ACK VAN ROOYEN PROVIDES AN INTERMEZZO FOR THE BILLY BYERS STORY
In the previous broadcast of “Dwarsliggers en Buitenbeentjes” (25 March 2023), you could listen to the EP “Kenny Clarke plays Pierre Michelot”. Then we heard that, as a 27-year-old Dutchman, trumpeter Ack van Rooyen effortlessly held his ground in the company of cosmopolitan heavyweights such as Billy Byers, Lucky Thompson, Pierre Michelot and Kenny Clarke.
After listening to the two trumpet solos that Ack van Rooyen was allowed to play in this high-quality company, I was filled with chauvinistic, nostalgic, and cultural-historical sentiments. I then concluded that this surprising entrance of Ack van Rooyen was the sign to give the Billy Byers story an intermezzo. During this intermezzo, we will devote several broadcasts to a very modest man who has nevertheless been the most interesting poet on the flugelhorn for decades.
The first time I was able to see Ack van Rooyen on stage is forever engraved in my memory. From Zwolle, where I was working as a cultural officer at the time, I drove my Citroën deux chevaux to Sittard on Sunday 21 June 1971 to attend the performance of Gil Evans’ orchestra at the Stadsschouwburg. I arrived well in time and was able to take a look at the light and sound technicians of the theater and a few members of the Gil Evans orchestra who were busy fine-tuning the stage. Suddenly, a fragile gentleman armed with a trumpet case walked onto the stage, introduced himself politely to the band members, and then took a seat with a steel face in the brass section, where he began to browse the enormous stack of scores on his music stand with great interest. Once the concert started, he created the impression with his accurate playing and his confident solos as if he had been touring with this often quite chaotic venture for years.
During the years that I was the director of Music Center Vredenburg (from 1976 to 2002), I was able to welcome Ack van Rooyen (and his brother Jerry) regularly for performances in the large hall (with the large, glorious Metropole Orchestra) or in the, now disappeared, small hall with The Dutch Jazz Orchestra. Delicious evenings with harmoniously operating brass and string sections, subtle or assertive rhythm sections, and many inspired solos, not only from Ack but also from the other soloists. And all of that was thanks to brother Jerry.
THE GENTLE FORCE OF ACK VAN ROOYEN
During the preparation of this broadcast, I came across a beautiful In Memoriam published on Jazzenzo.nl, which contained everything you need to know for a proper understanding of Ack van Rooyen. The author of this obituary, Cyriel Pluimakers, has given me permission to reproduce his article here:
Flugelhorn specialist Ack van Rooyen (1913-2021) passed away on Thursday, November 18, at the age of 91. Rarely has a jazz musician been showered with so many prizes and accolades during his final years as this unassuming Dutch master. It seemed as if the Netherlands had accidentally forgotten about him for decades. In 2017, he was awarded the Blijvend Applaus Prijs, appointed Officer in the Order of Orange-Nassau, and received the Boy Edgar Prize in 2020. Recently, he was also awarded an Edison for the impressive 3-LP album “Metropole Orkest: Then and Now – The Artistry of Ack & Jerry van Rooyen 1975-2020.” (Meanwhile, ZenneZ Records has also released a double CD version of this album. P.S.). A kind of catch-up race, which is less surprising when you realize that Van Rooyen earned his living for more than sixty years mainly in Germany.
SERVICE
Van Rooyen was long associated with the orchestras of Bert Kaempfert, Peter Herbolzheimer’s Rhythm Combination & Brass, and the United Jazz + Rock Ensemble. In the Netherlands, we heard him frequently on the radio with The Skymasters, but he was also associated with The Ramblers, The Hague Jazz Project, The Netherlands Concert Jazz Band, The Dutch Jazz Orchestra, and the aforementioned Metropole Orkest. American jazz musicians such as Clark Terry and Gil Evans invited him to join them on tour, and when he was invited by the Quincy Jones Orchestra to play with Miles Davis at the Montreux Jazz Festival in 1991, he considered it a great honor. At the Royal Conservatory, he was a beloved teacher. Van Rooyen found organizing a band too much hassle and preferred to be service-oriented. His artistic expressions show a versatility that we do not often encounter: from easy tune to top-level jazz. Often, his trumpet or flugelhorn provides a delightful moment that towers above saccharine strings.
HUMOR
It’s a shame that Van Rooyen wasn’t heard more in small ensembles. His solos were always small, carefully constructed masterpieces. Particularly on the flugelhorn, he had a tone and technique that made many a colleague look on in admiration. He disliked showy displays and improvised the way he spoke: softly, thoughtfully, and with a punchline at the end. His playing was often compared to that of the legendary Chet Baker (1929-1988), but if you listen closely, you’ll hear that he leans more towards Art Farmer (1928-1999), another grandmaster of the flugelhorn. His sense of humor, typical of the Hague, was legendary, and he could put many people, without regard for their status, on the wrong foot.
WARNE MARSH
The first time I heard him extensively was at a concert in April 1983 by the Warne Marsh Quartet at the Vredenburg Music Center, a venue characterized by adventurous jazz programming. Marsh, one of the best students of Lennie Tristano, had been revived from obscurity by producer Gerry Teekens and performed with pianist Lou Levy, bassist Jesper Lundgaard, and drummer James Martin. During the concert, Van Rooyen joined the ensemble to seamlessly integrate his flugelhorn into Marsh’s complex improvisations. It was clear that the musicians were having fun and many well-known jazz standards were given a fresh appearance during the concert.
PAUL HELLER
In recent years, we have seen him regularly in the company of German tenor saxophonist Paul Heller, a powerful blower who forms a perfect counterpoint to Van Rooyen’s soft and tender sound. Again, the jazz tradition is given a suitable new coat on every album. Heller often reminds us of a contemporary version of Don Byas (1912-1972). No less than three strong CDs resulted from this special collaboration.
In 2019, German bassist Martin Wind initiated the strong CD “White Noise” (Laika Records) with guitarist Philip Catherine and Van Rooyen. We hear him shining on flugelhorn in Kenny Wheeler’s “Canter,” Cole Porter’s “Everything I Love,” and his own “Autumn Bugle.” Appropriately, the album closes with a stunning “I Fall in Love Too Easily,” one of his favorite songs.
A beautiful concluding moment is the recently released “90” (Jazzline) – with guitarist Peter Tiehuis, drummer Hans Dekker, and saxophonist Heller once again in the lineup – where we hear a fragile Van Rooyen excel in “Papa Can You Hear Me,” “The Things We Did Last Summer,” and “All of a Sudden My Heart Sings.”
What stands out in all these albums are Van Rooyen’s exceptional qualities as a communicator. Every note has meaning and, like no other, he understands the art of focusing attention on himself with soft playing, both from his fellow musicians and from his listeners.
PERSEPOLIS
Persepolis was a famous jazz club in Utrecht that operated from 1959 to 1969. In April 2017, the club was temporarily revived on Oudegracht by order of Culturele Zondagen. As a concert organizer, I have seen Van Rooyen in many capacities, but one memory stands out in my mind. Musicians who had performed at Persepolis between its inception and closure were invited, including Han Bennink, Rein de Graaff, and the Instant Composers Pool. Bennink told me that he had a special bond with Van Rooyen, saying, “Ack once saved my life.” The exact circumstances remained a secret, but I know that they played great music that afternoon.
A few days after the event, Ack called me to say that he had left his blue scarf in the dressing room. It was a gift from a loved one in Japan and had great sentimental value. Fortunately, I found the scarf and sent it to him. The next day, Ack called me again and said, “Cyriel, it’s the wrong scarf. Mine was very special and made of pubic hair. This one is completely different.” I still don’t know if it was a joke, but the fact remains that someone out there has a blue scarf that belonged to Ack van Rooyen.
Here are some selected discography:
- Paul Heller featuring Ack van Rooyen—PAUL HELLER (Mons Records)
- Ack van Rooyen-Paul Heller Quintet—CELEBRATION (Mons Records)
- Ack van Rooyen/Paul Heller—LIVE & IN STUDIO (Mons Records)
- Martin Wind, Philip Catherine & Ack van Rooyen—WHITE NOISE (Mons Records)
- Metropole Orkest: Then and Now—The Artistry of Ack & Jerry van Rooyen 1975—2020 (3 LP-album or 2 CD-box (ZenneZ Records)
- Ack van Rooyen—90 (Jazzline)
PROGRAM OF DWARSLIGGERS EN BUITENBEENTJES FOR APRIL 8, 2023
- Pomegranate (Billy Strayhorn)
*The Dutch Jazz Orchestra+Jerry van Rooyen: So this is love—More newly discovered works of Billy Strayhorn (Challenge Records, 2002) (cd) - The Sentence (Rob Pronk)
- It happened yesterday (Rob Madna)
*The Rob Pronk Jazz Orchestra: It happened yesterday (Jazzline Alabianca Records, 1968) (cd) - The Runners (Jerry van Rooyen)
- Whirligig (Frans Elsen)
*Festival Big Band + Jerry van Rooyen: Explosive! (Philips, 1971) (lp) - For heaven’s sake (arrangement: Jerry van Rooyen)
*Cologne Concert Big Band+Jerry van Rooyen: Live! (Mons Records, 1996) (cd) - Brass (Jerry van Rooyen)
*Ack van Rooyen (septet): Homeward (Moods Records, 1982) (lp) - Django (arrangement: Jerry van Rooyen, conductor: Dolf van der Linden)
- The ballad of the sad young men (arrangement: Jerry van Rooyen, conductor: Dolf van der Linden)
- Shadow and Light (arrangement: Jerry van Rooyen, conductor: Jerry van Rooyen)
- Colores (Jerry van Rooyen, conductor: Dolf van der Linden)
*Ack van Rooyen and The Metropole Orchestra: Colores (Koala Records, 1991) (cd)
