A look back on North Sea Jazz 2023

Friday 7 July

The halls in Ahoy may have gotten larger, the crowds have increased more than proportionally. North Sea Jazz is as popular as ever and that means you have to think even more carefully about who you would like to see and hear in order not to end up in front of closed doors. The largest indoor jazz festival in the world, started early (at 3 PM). The thermometer ticked 30 degrees in sun-drenched Rotterdam this Friday.

Pianist Fergus McCreadie and his trio provided some cooling by playing hushed music influenced by Scottish nature and folk music. Drummer Stephen Henderson and bassist David Bowden accompanied the pianist in a sophisticated manner. A little more fireworks would have been welcome, though.

North Sea Jazz commemorated the abolition of slavery, 150 years ago this year. Not only American jazz was influenced by music from other continents, Dutch jazz was stamped by Surinamese, Indonesian and Arabic musical traditions. The Metropole Orchestra performed the ambitious project The Diaspora Suite at the Amazon Hall. Shirma Rouse and Zo! Gospel Choir brought an overwhelming opening with the emotionally uplifting song ‘Stand Up’. Flute player Ronald Snijders, tireless advocate of Surinamese-influenced jazz also got hands on. Pakistan-born American resident Arooj Aftab’s contribution became a moment of contemplation. Between the musical contributions, Glenn Helberg, Karin Amatmoekrim and Sheila Sitalsing read words by Anton de Kom, Anil Ramdas and Joceline Clemencia. The gospel-like duet ‘I Wish I Knew How It Would Be To Feel Free’ by Corinne Bailey Rae and Laura Mvula was one of the highlights.

Gospel singer Mavis Staples fought side by side with Martin Luther King for Civil Rights in the 1960s. Nearly sixty years later she still convinced at the Hudson Hall in Rotterdam with songs full of hope and comfort: ‘You wouldn’t think so, but everything will be all right!’

Drummer and bandleader Terri Lyne Carrington was shocked by the small number of female composers in the jazz standards work The Real Book and decided to make a supplement containing 101 New Standards written by women. Carrington took to the stage at the Hudson with her own formation, which was complemented by guest soloists singer and bassist Esperanza Spalding (‘artist in residence’ on this edition), saxophonist Tineke Postma (represented in New Standards) and the new star on the horizon saxophonist Lakecia Benjamin. The group started boldly with a piece in which the band members celebrated their freedom exuberantly, but shifted to more accessible registers in the presence of vocalist Michael Mayo. When keyboardist Kris Davis started to play the Fender Rhodes, the heydays of jazz rock revived. The flame caught fire from the moment Lakecia Benjamin, dressed in a futuristic gold suit, tapped primal forces with her fierce saxophone improvisations.

The Jazz At Lincoln Center Orchestra has been marinated in jazz tradition. Bandleader Wynton Marsalis made his contributions modestly from the rear. The large orchestra played in a highly disciplined manner, keeping the tension tight for 60 minutes. Saxophonist Sherman Irby impressed with his exciting blues improvisations. Trombonist Vincent Gardner turned out to be a real storyteller on his instrument. The only woman in this company, Alexa Tarantino was enthusiastically applauded from the audience during her clarinet solo. The musicians looked at each other with visible admiration. Grandmaster Marsalis himself underlined in a stunning manner that his lip tension was still very much in order.

Dave Holland’s New Quartet, again featuring pianist Kris Davis, concluded the first day of the festival with a strong set that seamlessly blended adventure and solid craftsmanship.

Saturday 8 July

In 2018 Wolfert Brederode wrote the suite Ruins and Remains to commemorate the end of the First World War one hundred years ago at that moment. The pianist and composer recorded the album of the same name for the ECM label with drummer Joost Lijbaart and the Matangi String Quartet. In the Madeira hall, the subtly performed composition was cruelly disrupted by a marching band banging their instruments on a lower floor. Visitors tried to shut themselves off for this violence for a while, but after ten minutes the first annoyed people walked away. The organisers reacted by saying that nothing could be done about the situation at that point.

Teus Nobel recalled at the Missouri his penultimate performance at North Sea Jazz four years ago when his father had just died: ‘In the front row, one seat remained emphatically empty.’ This edition, the trumpeter formed a strong formation with which he performed his project Human First. Nobel started this show in a modest quartet line-up with pianist Alexander van Popta, bassist Jeroen Vierdag and drummer Tuur Moens. After 30 minutes, guitarist Teis Semey and tenor saxophonist Lennert Baerts joined them in Nobel’s successful composition ‘Human First’. The musical variety was huge and thanks to the well thought-out structure and close interplay of the six musicians, the captivated audience didn’t even think about walking away.

The Fred Hersch trio, which boasts 75-years of combined playing experience with bassist Drew Gress and drummer Joey Baron, sounded fine in the Madeira during solid pieces. From the moment the pianist began a Bach-inspired solo intro, annoying sounds from neighbouring halls intruded. Conclusion: playing quiet music is no longer possible in the reshaped Madeira.

Brandee Younger who has given the harp a full place in jazz, performed in the small and crowded Murray Hall, fortunately photographer Ron Beenen was able to enter.

Hanna Marieke made her debut at North Sea Jazz. The Utrecht-based singer/pianist and her fellow musicians will have considered it a boost, but their performance in front of a loudly cackling audience that was more interested in food and drink than music did not do full justice from the stage set up in the summer sun.

For Saturday’s highlight, we had to give the Madeira another chance. The American saxophonist Lakecia Benjamin had already established during performances of her predecessors at this venue that her show would become a different one. ‘We want to build a party here,’ she said as she started her energetic performance, ‘and we try to spread love.’ The saxophonist and her fellow musicians drummer EJ Strickland, bassist Ivan Taylor and keyboardist Zaccai Curtis gave their all in a programme where they combined songs from Benjamin’s latest album Phoenix with the John Coltrane classics ‘My Favorite Things’, ‘Alabama’ and ‘A Love Supreme’. Halfway through, Benjamin played a compelling version of ‘Amazing Grace’. “As a girl, I saw a clip of D’Angelo at North Sea Jazz and I thought: one day I want to be on that stage.” It looks like Lakecia Benjamin and North Sea Jazz have embarked on a bright future together this weekend.

Sunday 9 July

After Samara Joy passed big names like Beyoncé, Adele, Lizzo and Taylor Swift and received a Grammy Award for her album Linger Awhile, her fame rose quickly. The Hudson was packed to the aisles and the American singer did not disappoint the audience. Joy’s voice is powerful, her range enormous and her stage presence excellent. During solos by members of her tight-playing backing band, she respectfully stepped aside.

At the Nile, the Sven Hammond Big Band and a series of soloists paid tribute to Ray Charles (1930-2004), who played four times at North Sea Jazz in The Hague. Berget Lewis made a smashing impression with soulful outbursts that showed a zest for life and musical daring. Rhythm and blues songs like ‘What I’d Say’, ‘Unchain My Heart’ and ‘I Got a Woman’ raised the temperature in the Nile. Meanwhile, the heavens opened over barbecues and eateries. Sodden outdoorspeople fled into the already packed venue.

In the other main hall, Maas, the Metropole Orchestra played music from Curaçao. “You have to honour people when they are still alive,” said singer Izaline Calister, “Fortunately, this is the case with composer Rudy Plaate. His memory sometimes lets him down, but he still recognises his music.” In addition to Plaate’s work, the orchestra played compositions by Jan Gerard Palm (1831-1906) and some of his descendants. Curaçao has an impressive music tradition, ranging from Frederic Chopin-influenced waltz music to rousing Caribbean Tumba.

Kandace Springs, who had to play in too small an auditorium at her previous North Sea Jazz performance, took glorious revenge in the Congo tent with her all-female trio. The Nashville-based singer, who accompanied her own powerful voice on the keys, paid tribute to the women who inspired her.

45 minutes before Brad Mehldau’s performance, the Hudson was already filling up. His trio, featuring bassist Larry Grenadier and drummer Jeff Ballard on drums, picked up steam from the first second, improvising from an infectiously deep groove. From the second piece, the sound faltered slightly. Technicians crawled around in impossible positions to straighten things out.

Jacob Lusk of the group Gabriels turned the Maas Hall into a mega-church. Like an accomplished preacher, he encouraged people to connect with the ones next to them. The thoughtful arrangements by violinist Ari Baiouzian and keyboardist Ryan Hope emphasized Lusk’s rich singing voice.

Yuri Honing presented his Peace Orchestra at the Madeira. Remy van Kesteren’s harp and Ella Zirina’s guitar sounded pleasantly timeless together. Honing’s full saxophone sound was carried by his orchestra, featuring bassist Tony Overwater and drummer Yoràn Vroom, until the laws of earth’s gravity no longer applied.

Branford Marsalis closed the festival with his superior playing quartet. Alternating on soprano and tenor sax, Marsalis played traditional jazz-based pieces with a sharp edge and a raw kind of energy. Pianist Joey Calderazzo, bassist Eric Revis and drummer Justin Faulkner also mastered their instruments so well that they could respectfully tease dynamics, rhythm and harmonic structures to their liking. Pleasure in playing and existential fury merged effortlessly with the Branford Marsalis Quartet. During the joyful encore, the audience enthusiastically clapped along on the second and fourth beats in the best New Orleans tradition.

Finally: the fact that white wine-drinking women and beer-dragging barbarians cannot keep their mouths shut during concerts is bad enough, but that during the Branford Marsalis Quartet’s masterly performance the hall’s own supervisors started an animated conversation indicates the decline of a wonderful tradition at North Sea Jazz.

Most pictures: Ron Beenen