Kazztalk

Jon Lord remembered

Posted on: July 17th, 2012 by KAZZ Show   |   No Comments

Keyboardist and composer Jon Lord died Monday, July 16th, at the age of 71.

 

I having been following him for almost 43 years, after hearing The Book Of Taliesyn album by Deep Purple in late 1969.

When I started playing keyboards in 1982 in my first rock band, it was definitely because of Jon’s inspirational, inventive playing of the Hammond organ in a heavy rocksituation. He wasn’t the first to do that (just remember Vanilla Fudge, who were a major influence for Purple). But Jon certainly broke new grounds, with his very own style of playing, combining jazz and classical elements in Purple’s heavy rock in a way no one had done before.

 

Though Jon will be remembered by many because of his time with Deep Purple, Jon also had his career as a composer of classical music. This started already in 1969 with his Concerto Fro Group And Orchestra, a composition recorded live Deep Purple and full orchestra. And more albums were to follow while still with Purple. Just think of the beautiful Sarabande.

When Lord finally left Purple in 2002, at the age of 61, he put this remark: I have something else to do! And damn, he had. While still with Purple he released a beautiful solo album in 1998, called Pictured Within (his first since 1982’s Before I Forget). The was only a hint of what was to come.

Over the past ten years Jon released a fine string of albums (Beyond The Notes, Boom Of The Tingling Strings, Durham Concerto, and, finally, To Notice Such Things). These albums brought him into the highest ranks of classical music polls, where he was surrounded by only long gone classical composers.

 

Besides, sometimes Jon went back to the blues. And recorded beautiful albums with The Blues Project and The Hoochie Coochie Men (their DVD is outstanding, with Jon guesting as the master of ceremony).

 

In his final year Jon has been busy working on a definitive new studio recording of his first masterpiece, The Concerto, featuring the likes of Bruce Dickinson and Joe Bonamassa. At the time of writing I am not sure if recordings were finished and/or will be released.

 

The world loses a great musician and composer, a truly gentleman.

 

I will surely miss the man who inspired me so much.

He could have done so much more.

R.I.P.

Thank You, Regensburg

Posted on: December 14th, 2011 by KAZZ Show   |   No Comments

I was in Regensburg, Germany, in the weekend of November 12th.
Invited by Mikey and Gabi, a very special couple who I met eleven years ago at a tecno party in Munich where I was playing in the chillout room. Gabi asked me if I would like to come over to their place to perform a Living Room Concert. I had to think about it for a minute. It would mean a 700 km drive (and back) for just one gig. Well, I did it and did it again in 2001. Met a lot of interesting people, all lovers of electronic music. About a third of my first live album encores@home.de was recorded there.

Picture this. A farm just outside of Regensburg. And behind the farm there is a huge barn. Mikey, who took over the farm from his father when he died, transformed the barn into a nice meeting place for friends, all who love electronic music ofcourse.

So I was delighted that Mikey invited me to come over again after 10 years after he heard On Whispered Dreams.

It was a great party. And a lot of old familiar faces, who I had’t met in ten years, though some of them have been keeping in contact with me via mails.
About 250 people turned up. From some I knew they had downloaded On Whispered Dreams.

From 20.00 hours I played some well known EM classics over the huge soundsystem. And by 23.00 hours it was time to start off.
My first ever gig without any musical instruments. No keyboards, synths of whatsoever. It was only me with my Mac. A soul alone on a dark stage, that was only lit by some candles.

I performed the full On Whispered Dreams album. Plus two new long pieces, which, by the way, will be available for you in a short while. During the intermissions I got requests to play Tim Blake’s New Jerusalem (as I did 10 years ago). I was prepared for that, so I had the backing music prepared on my hard disk. This was the last time I have performed the track. I won’t do it again.
All in all I played four sets and by 4.30 AM it was over, when Mikey thanked me for coming over.
And then ofcourse, it was party time. Had some fine chats and enjoyed the white wine.

Thanks Gabi and Mikey for being great hosts.
Thanks to all who were there.
I enjoyed every minute of it.

With love From Me To You,
Kazz

Hello Regensburg

Posted on: November 10th, 2011 by KAZZ Show   |   No Comments

Hello Friends,

I’d like to say Hi to all who will come to Mikey’s Barn this Saturday.
I am really looking forward to play for you for the first time in ten years.
I am really wondering who will be there. Some of you have been keeping contact with me all over the past years. So I hope you all will make it to Regensburg.
So many memories from my two previous visits. It was Mikey’s wife who I met first at a tecno party in Munich, where I was playing in the chillout room early 2000. She told me about Living Room Concerts they were doing. How much was I surprised when I turned up there the first time in August 2000. A Living Room? It was a huge barn behind their farm, which they had transformed into a meeting point for people who love electronic music.
It was so relaxed with all those peaceful happy people.
So yes, I am looking forward to play for you. And for the first time play the new album live. I have also prepared some new pieces. And there will be a lot of improvisation as usual.
The weather will be nice, not too cold. Not like the previous gigs, which took place in the middle of hot summers. So don’t expect me to play until sunrise this time, haha. I will have a 700 km drive back home on Sunday.

CU all,
with love from me to you,
Kazz

Hi Friends

Posted on: September 11th, 2011 by KAZZ Show   |   No Comments

Hi everybody,

 

It’s been some time since I last talked to you.

But now the new album has been finished, I have some time for you, my dear friends.

 

I have had some crazy weeks celebrating my 40th Anniversary as a musician.

As I started as a streetmusician 40 years I thought it might be fun to do that just that once more.

It was fun to play on several market places in the region. To see people’s reactions, or on some occasions no reactions.

In these weeks I went through the highs and lows of being a lone subject.

My biggest problem (ofcourse) was handling the guitar which I hadn’t played for 33 years. Sometimes I just simply left out the chords and sang acapella. Because it’s the song that counts.

I’d like to thank all who joined in and sang all along.

I didn’t have a setlist but here is a list of the songs which were performed:

– Heart Of Gold (Neil Young – the Tom Waits approach)

– Proud Mary (John Fogerty – the Elvis Costello approach)

– Like A Rolling Stone (B. Dylan)

– Fire (Arthur Brown – the acoustic blues version)

– Helpless (Crosby Stills Nash & Young)

– Sears and Roebuck Suit (AJ Roach)

– Pleistocene (AJ Roach)

– Julia Dream (Pink Floyd)

– Blowin’ In The Wind (B. Dylan)

– The End (Doors)

– When A Blind Man Cries (Deep Purple)

– Ben Ik Te Min (Armand)

– Waterfiets (Armand)

– Golf Girl (Caravan)

– Banana Boat Song

– Get Up Stand Up (Bob Marley)

– Roll Over Beethoven (C. Berry)

– Dead Flowers (Rolling Stones)

– Papa Was A Rolling Stone (Temptations)

– For What It’s Worth (Buffalo Springfield)

– So Good So Far (Loudon Wainwright – I’m convinced guitars are really dicks)

+ a couple of new songs I wrote:

= Verwilderst (kinda political love song)

= Als jij gaat

= Zing Woorden Tussen De Regels Van De Haat (originally a Neil Young song on his Harvest album, but now with new lyrics in Dutch)

 

So far so good. But then I had to work on the On Whispered Dreams album at the same time.

Recording this album was a real challenge. For the first time I didn’t use any musical instruments, which was quite a challenge. It was a struggle really to get it right. Even in the mixing process I had to make dramatic changes and rerecord some stuff.

But in the end I think On Whispered Dreams is quite a great album. Not unlike previous albums. I know a lot of people like the Berlin School approach, but I have to say I am moving away from that.  Still love sequencers as you will hear, but there is more.

I move on, starting work on a new project called Outer Visions, which will keep me occupied for a couple of years. Also I have some ideas for a reggae dub thing. Anyone interested?

This is something I wanted to do for a long time. So now is the time, I guess.

But for now, I hope you like the new album On Whisoered Dreams.

Next thing I have to prepare for my first EM appearance since 2006. Hi Guys at Regensburg, we will meet again after 10 years next month. I am realize looking forward to meet all this crazy people again

 

With love from me to you,

Kazz

On AJ Roach and Israel Nash Gripka

Posted on: May 1st, 2011 by KAZZ Show   |   No Comments

I’d like to share with you my feelings on a few gigs I recently visited.

First AJ ROACH. I saw him three years when he performed in my favorite local club, The Nix. I was thrilled by the show. Lately he visited the visited The Netherlands again for a string of gigs. and ofcourse, I had to be there. AJ has a unique way of writing songs. Combined with his way of singing it makes his show an unforgettable experience. Het played all the tracks from his new album PLEISTOCENE. Only just about 30 minutes long every song hits the heart (or soul if you like). If you are into singer songwriters I strongly give you the advice to listen.
There are also two official live bootleg recordings available. You can find them here

The second artist I visited is ISRAEL NASH GRIPKA. Not a household name until now, Gripka has released two albums so far and his latest, BARN DOORS AND CONCRETE FLOORS, was impressive enough to go down to watch the gig. I can only say it is just a matter of time until he will have his worldwide breakthrough. He is gorgeous, has a fine band. With a voice that is a bit reminiscent of Ryan Adams, John Fogerty or Neil Young, Gripka will be a star. Check him out!

Eulogy Jan Wobben (Oct. 5 1949 – April 3 2011)

Posted on: April 7th, 2011 by KAZZ Show   |   1 Comment

(English version below)

In de nacht van zaterdag op zondag overleed Jan Wobben, 61 jaar.

De laatste 8 jaar heb ik Jan leren kennen als de gedreven kracht van de NIX BBBluesclub in Enschede, die hij samen met zijn jongere broer Chris runde.

Jan was een aimabele man, die nooit in het middelpunt van de belangstelling wilde staan. Behalve dan als hij de optredende artiesten moest aankondigen. En dat deed hij met veel gevoel voor humor.

Jan maakte ook mooie foto’s. In mijn archief zitten hele mooie. Heel bijzonder was het dat Jan vorig jaar nog een hele serie uit zijn archief tevoorschijn toverde van het reünie optreden van Eternal Flame in 2003 (ze staan op de site onder Views).

Toen ik eind 2002 voor ik eerst in de bluesclub kwam, was ik al een paar jaar gestopt als zanger. Ik woonde een paar jamsessies bij en kreeg wel zin om mee te doen. Maar ik kende helemaal geen bluesliedjes. Ik vertelde dat aan Jan en hij zei: “Kazz, dan doe je toch maar wat. Kom op!” En dat deed ik. En afloop kwam Jan naar me toe: “Jongen, goed gedaan. Kom de volgende keer maar weer langs.”

Inmiddels zijn er vele jamsessies geweest, waar ik aan mee heb gedaan. En altijd was er het enthousiasme van Jan. En hoe hij mij soms introduceerde als “onze Kazz.” Vond ik altijd heel fijn.

En nu neem ik afscheid. Het was fijn je gekend te hebben. Jan, bedankt. Bedankt dat je mij weer aan het zingen hebt gekregen.

The Blues goes on!

English:

This weekend Jan Wobben died, aged 61.

The past 8 years I have known Jan as the driving force behind the Nix BBBluesclub in Enschede, together with his younger brother Chris.

Jan was a kind person, who never stood in the spotlight, except when he had to announce the performing artists. Which he did with his sense of humor.

Jan also was a good photographer. It was very special when he last year came up with a series of pictures from the Eternal Flame reunion in 2003 (which you find on this site under Views).

When I first visited the bluesclub in autumn 2002, I had quit singing for some years. After attending some jamsessions, I felt like singing again, but I didn’t know any bluessongs. I told Jan and his reply was: “Kazz, then just improvise, come on.” After the jam Jan came up to me saying “Boy, well done. Come along next time.”

Many jams have gone by since then. And always there was Jan’s enthusiasm, sometimes introducing me as “our Kazz”, which made me feel good.

And now I have to say goodbye. It was fine to have you known. Jan, THANKS. Thanks for making me sing again.

The Blues goes on!

Hello 2011

Posted on: January 16th, 2011 by KAZZ Show   |   1 Comment

First of all Happy New Year to you all!

I’d like to thank you, wherever you’re from, for a fine year. Sadly I wasn’t able to do more than just the one gig at Zoutpop.

It was great to see the international attention for the B.LOOSE album grow and grow. The CD went out to 22 countries.

Now that the second edition is sold out, a third edition is on its way. No fooling around with extras or odd sorts of this or that.

PLANS FOR 2011

Well, enough about the past.

What am I gonna do in this upcoming year.

THE NEW ALBUM

I started working on a new electronic album this Christmas.

I had already been working on another project called Music For Cloudspeakers earlier last year. But I had to put it on hold because I lost the inspiration to finish it.

The new album will be pretty much different to the electronic albums I released between 1998-2006.

There will be a lot of rhythms around.

All basic tracks have been finished now, but I have to do some work on the solos.

The title of the album will be ON WHISPERED DREAMS.

I expect to have it all finished by late March-early April.

The album will not be released as a physical CD. Therefore it will be available as a download.

And yes, my dear friends, it will be for FREE!!!

LIVING ROOM CONCERTS (AGAIN)

The past few months I have been invited by some old friends to play living room concerts again.

Between 2000-2004 I played quite a lot of living room concerts in Germany, which was really great to do.

This will take place in the summer period. As usual, these performances will only be for those who are invited. As a consequence the dates will not be made publicly available, but I will let you know here how it was. All shows will be recorded, so expect a live compilation later in the year.

40 YEARS

Oh yeah, don’t remind me. Really getting’ old. This year I ‘have’ to celebrate the fact that it was 40 years ago when I took my guitar and started singing on a market square every Saturday.

I have in mind to arrange something to celebrate it, but at this time I can’t tell you how. Probably I will invite some good friends and do a gig somewhere or maybe even record something.

Ofcourse it will include some of the songs I played in those early days (Dylan-Young stuff etc).

RERELEASES

In 2010 I have started rereleases of old solo stuff, all now available again as FREE downloads (find them in the DISCOGRAPHY section). It was nice to see that lots of you had great fun with them. I will continue doing that this year with my first solo CD Trancedancer being the next subject to release. Initially a private 2CD it was commercially released as a single CD in Germany. This year you will be able to get the original real thing, the full 2CD. For those living outside Germany, who have have never heard the now out-of-print  single CD mix, this will also be available again. This might very well interfere with the Living Room Concerts, due in July/August. There have been quite some mails from people asking for rereleasing stuff from bands I’ve played with, especially ETERNAL FLAME. Well, all I can say, I will talk with the boys and see what can be done. This site will keep you posted when there is any news about it.

For now, enjoy the rest of wintertime!

With love from me to you,

KAZZ