Han Bennink’s instant creations
After multi-instrumentalist and visual artist Han Bennink, 1942, graduated cum laude from the Amsterdam School of Applied Arts in 1964, specialising in ‘graphic art’, one of his teachers uttered the prophetic words: ‘You will be the best graphic artist among drummers or the best drummer among graphic artists.’ Watch the video here, featuring additional footage […]
Miles Davis: ‘Painting is the visual equivalent of making music.’
The similarities between jazz and visual art are clearly evident in the work of Miles Davis (1926 – 1991). In the early 1980s, the influential American trumpeter, bandleader and composer was temporarily unable to play his instrument as a result of a stroke. His doctor advised him to use pencil exercises to regain movement in […]
Karel Appel, the fierce painter beast
The name of Karel Appel (1921 – 2006) is inextricably linked to jazz music. Like many of his Cobra colleagues, the Dutch artist was a passionate jazz lover. To create the right working conditions, he played rousing jazz records in his studio. Listen to the text on my YouTube channel: The documentary ‘The Reality of […]
Henri Matisse’s visual jazz
This text is read aloud on my YouTube channel. Additional video and audio material can also be found there: The working method of the influential French painter, draughtsman and sculptor Henri Matisse (1869 -1954) is very reminiscent of the way jazz music is created. Matisse travelled to the farthest corners of the earth at a […]
David Stone Martin’s applied jazz art
This text is read aloud on my YouTube channel. Additional video and audio material can also be found there: David Stone Martin (1913 – 1992) could be called the inventor of applied jazz art. He was born in Chicago in 1913 and studied art at the School of Art Institute there. During the Second […]
Artist Dante Zaballa lets himself be guided by the moment
The New York Times takes the history of jazz seriously. Every month, the American quality newspaper profiles an artist, group or movement that has played a decisive role in the development of improvised music. This text is read aloud on my YouTube channel. You can also find more information and moving images of Dante Zaballa […]