Han Bennink (born 17 April 1942) is a Dutch drummer and percussionist. On occasion his recordings have featured him playing soprano saxophone, bass clarinet, trombone, violin, banjo and piano. Though perhaps best known as one of the pivotal figures in early European

free jazz Free jazz, or free form in the early to mid-1970s, is a style of avant-garde jazz or an experimental approach to jazz improvisation that developed in the late 1950s and early 1960s, when musicians attempted to change or break down jazz conventi ...

and

free improvisation Free improvisation or free music is improvised music without any general rules, instead following the intuition of its performers. The term can refer to both a technique—employed by any musician in any genre—and as a recognizable genre of ...

, Bennink has worked in essentially every school of jazz, and is described by critic Chris Kelsey as "one of the unfortunately rare musicians whose abilities and interests span jazz's entire spectrum." Known for often injecting

slapstick Slapstick is a style of humor involving exaggerated physical activity that exceeds the boundaries of normal physical comedy. Slapstick may involve both intentional violence and violence by mishap, often resulting from inept use of props such as ...

and

absurdist humor Surreal humour (also called surreal comedy, absurdist humour, or absurdist comedy) is a form of humour predicated on deliberate violations of causal reasoning, thus producing events and behaviors that are obviously illogical. Portrayals of su ...

into his performances, Bennink has had especially fruitful long-term partnerships with pianist

Misha Mengelberg Misha Mengelberg (5 June 1935 – 3 March 2017) was a Dutch jazz pianist and composer.Feather, Leonard & Gitler, Ira (2007) ''The Biographical Encyclopedia of Jazz'', p. 459. Oxford University Press. A prominent figure in post-WWII European Jazz ...

and saxophonist

Peter Brötzmann Peter Brötzmann (6 March 1941 – 22 June 2023) was a German jazz saxophonist and clarinetist regarded as a central and pioneering figure in European free jazz. Throughout his career, he released over fifty albums as a bandleader. Amongst his m ...

. Han is a brother of saxophonist Peter Bennink.

Early life and education

Bennink was born in

Zaandam Zaandam () is a city in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of North Holland, Netherlands. It is the main city of the municipality of Zaanstad and received City rights in the Netherlands, city rights in 1811. It is located on the river Zaan ...

, the son of a classical percussionist. He played the drums and the clarinet during his teens.

Performing career

Through the 1960s he was the drummer with a number of American musicians visiting the Netherlands, including

Dexter Gordon Dexter Gordon (February 27, 1923 – April 25, 1990) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist, composer, and bandleader. He was among the most influential early bebop musicians. Gordon's height was , so he was also known as "Long Tall Dexter" an ...

Wes Montgomery John Leslie "Wes" Montgomery (March 6, 1923 – June 15, 1968) was an American jazz guitarist. Montgomery was known for his unusual technique of plucking the strings with the side of his thumb and for his extensive use of octaves, which gave him a ...

Sonny Rollins Walter Theodore "Sonny" Rollins (born September 7, 1930) is an American retired jazz tenor saxophonist who is widely recognized as one of the most important and influential jazz musicians. In a seven-decade career, Rollins recorded over sixt ...

and

Eric Dolphy Eric Allan Dolphy Jr. (June 20, 1928 – June 29, 1964) was an American jazz multi-instrumentalist, composer, and bandleader. Primarily an alto saxophonist, bass clarinetist, and flautist, Dolphy was one of several multi-instrumentalists to gain ...

(he is present on Dolphy's recording, '' Last Date'' (1964)). He subsequently became a central figure in the emerging European

scene. In 1963 he formed a quartet with pianist

and saxophonist

Piet Noordijk Piet Noordijk (May 25, 1932 – October 8, 2011) was a Dutch saxophonist. Noordijk played with orchestras and big bands, including The Skymasters, The Ramblers and Malando. He was awarded the Wessel Ilcken Prize in 1965. Between 1978 and 1992, N ...

which performed at the 1966

Newport Jazz Festival The Newport Jazz Festival is an annual American multi-day jazz music festival held every summer in Newport, Rhode Island. Elaine Lorillard established the festival in 1954, and she and husband Louis Lorillard financed it for many years. They hire ...

. In 1967 he was a co-founder of the

Instant Composers Pool Instant Composers Pool (ICP) is an independent Dutch jazz and improvised music label and orchestra. Founded in 1967, the label takes its name from the concept that improvisation is "instant composition". The ICP label has published more than 50 ...

with Mengelberg and

Willem Breuker Willem Breuker (4 November 1944 – 23 July 2010) was a Dutch bandleader, composer, arranger, saxophonist, and clarinet The clarinet is a Single-reed instrument, single-reed musical instrument in the woodwind family, with a nearly cylindri ...

, which sponsored Dutch avant garde performances. From the late 1960s, he played in a trio with saxophonist

and Belgian pianist

Fred Van Hove Fred Van Hove (19 February 1937 – 13 January 2022) was a Belgian jazz musician and a pioneer of European free jazz. He was a pianist, accordionist, church organist, and carillonist, an improviser and a composer. In the 1960s and 1970s he per ...

, which became a duo after Van Hove's departure in 1976. Through much of the 1990s, he played in Clusone 3 (also known as the Clusone Trio), a trio with saxophonist/clarinetist

Michael Moore Michael Francis Moore is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, and author. Moore's work frequently addresses various Social issue, social, political, and economic topics. He first became publicly known for his award-winning debut ...

and cellist

Ernst Reijseger Ernst Reijseger (born 13 November 1954) is a Dutch cellist and composer. He specializes in avant-garde jazz, free jazz, improvised music, and contemporary classical music and often gives solo concerts. He has worked with Louis Sclavis, Derek ...

. He has often played duos with Mengelberg and collaborated with him alongside other musicians. From the late 1980s through the early 2000s, Bennik collaborated closely with Dutch

post-punk Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad genre of music that emerged in late 1977 in the wake of punk rock. Post-punk musicians departed from punk's fundamental elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a broader, more experiment ...

band The Ex, appearing on their 1995 album ''

Instant In physics and the philosophy of science, instant refers to an infinitesimal interval in time, whose passage is instantaneous. In ordinary speech, an instant has been defined as "a point or very short space of time," a notion deriving from its etym ...

'' and travelling and playing with them on their first tour to Ethiopia.

Recordings

As well as playing with these long-standing groups, Bennink has performed and recorded solo (''Tempo Comodo'' (1982) being among his solo recordings) and played with many

and

musicians including Derek Bailey,

Conny Bauer Konrad "Conny" Bauer (born 4 July 1943) is a German free jazz trombonist. He is the brother of the trombonist Johannes Bauer. As a student at senior high school in Sonneberg between 1957 and 1961, he was enthusiastic about modern music and dan ...

Don Cherry Donald Stewart Cherry (born February 5, 1934) is a Canadian former ice hockey player, coach, and television commentator. He played one game in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Boston Bruins. After concluding a playing career in the A ...

and

Alexander von Schlippenbach Alexander von Schlippenbach (born 7 April 1938) is a German jazz pianist and composer. He came to prominence in the 1960s playing free jazz in a trio with saxophonist Evan Parker and drummer Paul Lovens, and as a member of the Globe Unity Orch ...

, as well as more conventional jazz musicians such as

Lee Konitz Leon "Lee" Konitz (October 13, 1927 – April 15, 2020) was an American jazz Alto saxophone, alto saxophonist and composer. He performed successfully in a wide range of jazz styles, including bebop, cool jazz, and avant-garde jazz. Konitz's ass ...

. In 1983 he collaborated with

boogie-woogie Boogie-woogie is a genre of blues music that became popular during the late 1920s, but already developed in African-American communities since the 1870s.Paul, Elliot, ''That Crazy American Music'' (1957), Chapter 10, p. 229. It was eventually ex ...

pianist and vocalist

Little Willie Littlefield Willie Littlefield, Jr., billed as Little Willie Littlefield (September 16, 1931 – June 23, 2013), was an American R&B and boogie-woogie pianist and singer whose early recordings "formed a vital link between boogie-woogie and rock and roll". ...

for his album, '' I'm in the Mood''.

Style

Bennink's style is wide-ranging, running from conventional jazz drumming to highly unconventional free improvisation, for which he often uses whatever

found objects A found object (a calque from the French ''objet trouvé''), or found art, is art created from undisguised, but often modified, items or products that are not normally considered materials from which art is made, often because they already have ...

happen to be onstage (chairs, music stands, instrument cases), his own body (a favourite device involves putting a drumstick in his mouth and striking it with the other stick), and the entire performance space—the floor, doors, and walls. He makes frequent use of birdcalls and whatever else strikes his fancy (one particularly madcap performance in Toronto in the 1990s involved a deafening fire alarm bell placed on the floor).

Discography

The following is a partial list of recordings by Han Bennink.

Solo albums

* 1970: ''Solo'' (

) * 1973: '' Nerve Beats'' (UMS, ALP,

Atavistic In biology, an atavism is a modification of a biological traits structure or behavior whereby an ancestral genetic trait reappears after having been lost through evolutionary change in previous generations. Atavisms can occur in several ways, ...

, 2001) * 1979: ''Solo - West/East'' ( FMP) * 1982: ''Tempo Comodo'' (

Data Records Ministry of Sound or Ministry of Sound Group is a multimedia entertainment business based in London with a nightclub, shared workspace and private members' club, worldwide events operation, music publishing business and fitness studio. James ...

)

Collaborations

As leader or co-leader * 1968: ''Instant Composers Pool'', (

), with

and

John Tchicai John Martin Tchicai ( ; 28 April 1936 – 8 October 2012) was a Danish free jazz saxophonist and composer. Biography Tchicai was born in Copenhagen, Denmark, to a Danish mother and a Congolese father. The family moved to Aarhus, where he s ...

* 1972: '' Derek Bailey & Han Bennink'' (Ictus) with Derek Bailey * 1979: ''A European Proposal (Live In Cremona)'' (

Horo Records Horo Records was an Italian jazz record label, operated by Aldo Sinesio. Discography HDP series * HDP 1-2 Irio De Paula orchestra Casinha Branca * HDP 3-4 Sam Rivers trio Black Africa 1 * HDP 5-6 Sam Rivers trio Black Africa 2 * HDP 7-8 Ran Blake ...

), with Misha Mengelberg, Paul Rutherford and Mario Schiano * 1996: '' Serpentine'' (Songlines Recordings), with

Dave Douglas David or Dave Douglas may refer to: Entertainment * David Douglas (director) (born 1953), Canadian cinematographer, director and writer * Dave Douglas (trumpeter) (born 1963), American jazz trumpeter * Dave Douglas (drummer) (born 1979), American ...

* 1997: ''3'' (VIA Jazz), with Michiel Borstlap and Ernst Glerum, reissued in 2004 by 55 Records * 2000: ''

Jazz Bunker ''Jazz Bunker'' is a live double album by Han Bennink, Eugene Chadbourne, and Toshinori Kondo. Featuring a wide variety of instrumentation, it was recorded during February 1980 at the Jazz Bunker in Rotterdam, Holland, and was not released until 2 ...

'' (Golden Years Of New Jazz), with

Eugene Chadbourne Eugene Chadbourne (born January 4, 1954) is an American banjoist, guitarist and music critic. Life and career Chadbourne was born in Mount Vernon, New York, Mount Vernon, New York, but grew up in Boulder, Colorado. He started playing guitar wh ...

and

Toshinori Kondo was a Japanese avant-garde jazz and jazz fusion trumpeter. Career Kondo was born in Ehime Prefecture. He attended Kyoto university in 1967, and became close friends with percussionist Tsuchitori Toshiyuki. In 1972 the pair left university, and ...

* 2004: '' Free Touching: Live in Beijing at Keep in Touch'' (Noise Asia), with Wong Young, Andreas Schreiber,

Dennis Rea Dennis Rea (born July 7, 1957) is an American guitarist, author, and music event organizer. He was a member of the electronic music group Earthstar in the late 1970s and early 1980s. He leads the progressive rock quintet Moraine and worked with ...

, Steffen Schorn, and Claudio Puntin * 2004: ''Home Safely'' (Favorite), with

Curtis Clark Curtis Clark (April 23, 1950 - May 19, 2023) was a jazz pianist from Chicago, United States. Clark was born in Chicago, Illinois in 1950, but moved to Los Angeles where he spent his student years and started composing and playing the piano. Afte ...

and Ernst Glerum * 2005: ''BBG'' (Favorite), with Michiel Borstlap and Ernst Glerum * 2007: '' Amplified Trio'' (Treader Records), with

Spring Heel Jack Spring Heel Jack is an English electronic music duo, consisting of John Coxon and Ashley Wales. Formed in 1993 in London, England, Spring Heel Jack began their career exploring drum and bass and Oldschool jungle, jungle, but have since branc ...

* 2008: ''Monk Volume One'' (Gramercy Park Music), with Michiel Borstlap and Ernst Glerum * 2009: ''

Parken Parken, currently known as Parken - Connected by 3 for sponsorship reasons, and as Telia Parken (2014–2020), is a Soccer-specific stadium, football stadium in the Indre Østerbro (''Inner Østerbro'') district of Copenhagen, Denmark, built from ...

'' (ILK Music), with Joachim Badenhorst, Simon Toldam, and Qarin Wikström * 2010: ''Laiv'' (Bassesferec), with Fabrizio Puglisi and Ernst Glerum With Ray Anderson and

Christy Doran Christy Doran (born 1949) is a jazz guitarist born in Dublin, Ireland, and raised in Lucerne, Switzerland. Doran founded OM with Fredy Studer, Urs Leimgruber, and Bobby Burri in the 1970s; this ensemble recorded for ECM. He and Studer also work ...

* 1994: '' Azurety'' ( hat ART) * 1995: ''

Cheer Up Cheer Up may refer to: Film, theatre and television *''Cheer Up'', 1917 musical by John Raymond Hubbell * Cheer Up (1924 film), American silent comedy directed by Stephen Roberts (director) * ''Cheer Up'' (film), 1936 British comedy film directed ...

'' (hat ART) * 2011: ''Who Is In Charge?'' (Kemo), with Frank Möbus, Ernst Glerum, and Paul van Kemenade With

Gary Bartz Gary Bartz (born September 26, 1940) is an American jazz saxophonist. He has won two Grammy Awards. Biography Bartz was first exposed to jazz as the son of the owners of a jazz nightclub in Baltimore. In 1958 he left Baltimore to study at the J ...

Jackie McLean John Lenwood McLean (May 17, 1931 – March 31, 2006) was an American jazz alto saxophonist, composer, bandleader, and educator. He is one of the few musicians to be elected to the ''DownBeat'' Hall of Fame in the year of their death. Bio ...

and

Charlie Mariano Carmine Ugo Mariano (November 12, 1923 – June 16, 2009) was an American jazz saxophone, saxophonist who focused on the alto saxophone, alto and soprano saxophone. He occasionally performed and recorded on flute and nadaswaram as well. Biogra ...

* 1973: ''

Altissimo Altissimo (Italian for ''very high'') is the uppermost register on woodwind instruments. For clarinets, which overblow on odd harmonics, the altissimo notes are those based on the fifth, seventh, and higher harmonics. For other woodwinds, the a ...

'' (Philips) With

Paul Bley Paul Bley, Order of Canada, CM (November 10, 1932 – January 3, 2016) was a Canadian jazz pianist known for his contributions to the free jazz movement of the 1960s as well as his innovations and influence on trio playing and his early live per ...

and

Annette Peacock Annette Peacock (born 1941) is an American composer, musician, songwriter, producer, and arranger. She is a pioneer in electronic music who combined her voice with one of the first Moog synthesizers in the late 1960s. Biography Annette Peacock ...

* 1971: ''

Improvisie ''Improvisie'' is a live album by Paul Bley with Annette Peacock and Han Bennink which was released on the French America label in 1971.Dual Unity ''Dual Unity'' is a live album by Annette Peacock and Paul Bley (credited as Annette & Paul Bley) which was released by Freedom Records in 1972.Anthony Braxton Anthony Braxton (born June 4, 1945) is an American experimental composer, educator, music theorist, improviser and multi-instrumentalist who is best known for playing saxophones, particularly the alto. Braxton grew up on the South Side of Chi ...

* 1993: ''

Anthony Braxton's Charlie Parker Project 1993 ''Anthony Braxton's Charlie Parker Project 1993'' is an album featuring live and studio performances of compositions associated with Charlie Parker arranged and performed by saxophonist Anthony Braxton which was recorded in Switzerland and Germany ...

'' (HatART, 1995) With

Steve Beresford Steve Beresford (born 6 March 1950) is a British musician who graduated from the University of York He has played a variety of instruments, including piano, electronics, trumpet, euphonium, bass guitar and a wide variety of toy instruments, suc ...

* 1987: ''Directly To Pyjamas'' (Nato) * 2002: ''B + B'' (

) With

* 1967: ''New Acoustic Swing Duo'' (Instant Composers Pool) With

* 1964: '' Last Date'' (

Limelight Records Limelight Records was a jazz record label and subsidiary of Mercury Records started in 1962. The catalogue included music by Art Blakey, Dizzy Gillespie, Earl Hines, Milt Jackson, Gerry Mulligan, and Oscar Peterson. Originally headed by Quincy Jon ...

) * 1964: ''Playing: Epistrophy, June 1, 1964 In Eindhoven, Holland'' (ICP; includes Misha Mengelberg and Jacques Schols; rehearsal tape for the above concert issued 1975) With

* 1968: '' Machine Gun'' ( FMP) * 1969: ''

Nipples The nipple is a raised region of tissue on the surface of the breast from which, in lactating females, milk from the mammary gland leaves the body through the lactiferous ducts to nurse an infant. The milk can flow through the nipple passively, ...

'' (Calig) * 1970: ''Balls'' (FMP), with

* 1973: '' Brötzmann/Van Hove/Bennink'' (FMP) with Fred Van Hove, also known as ''FMP 130'' * 1977: ''Ein Halber Hund Kann Nicht Pinkeln'' (FMP) * 1977: ''

Schwarzwaldfahrt ''Schwarzwaldfahrt'' ("A Trip Through the Black Forest") is an album by saxophonist Peter Brötzmann and percussionist Han Bennink. It was recorded during May 9–11, 1977, in the open air of the Black Forest in Baden-Wuerttemberg, Germany, using ...

'' (FMP) * 1979: '' 3 Points and a Mountain'' ( FMP), with Misha Mengelberg * 1980: ''Atsugi Concert'' (Gua Bungue) * 2001: '' Fuck de Boere'' (Atavistic) recorded in 1968 and 1970 * 2004: ''

Still Quite Popular After All Those Years ''Still Quite Popular After All Those Years'' is an album by saxophonist and clarinetist Peter Brötzmann and drummer Han Bennink. It was recorded on February 4 and 5, 2004, at the Loft in Cologne, Germany, and was released on vinyl in limited quan ...

'' (BRÖ Records) * 2006: ''Total Music Meeting 1977 Berlin'' (BRÖ Records) * 2008: ''In Amherst 2006'' (BRÖ Records) With Eric Boeren * 2012: ''Coconut'' (De Platenbakkerij), with

and Wilbert de Joode With

Marion Brown Marion Brown (September 8, 1931 – October 18, 2010) was an American jazz alto saxophonist, composer, writer, visual artist, and ethnomusicologist. He was a member of the avant-garde jazz scene in New York City during the 1960s, playing alongsi ...

* 1967: ''

Porto Novo , , ; ; ; also known as Hogbonu and Ajashe) is the capital and second-largest city of Benin. The commune covers an area of and as of 2002 had a population of 223,552 people. In 1863, following British bombardment, Porto-Novo accepted French ...

'' (Freedom) With

Sean Bergin Sean Bergin (29 June 1948 – 1 September 2012) was an avant-garde jazz saxophonist and flautist from South Africa. Bergin was born in Durban on 29 June 1948. He was a saxophonist, flautist, composer, educator and bandleader. In his youth Bergi ...

* 1988: ''Kid's Mysteries'' (Nimbus West) With

Uri Caine Uri Caine (born June 8, 1956) is an American classical music, classical and jazz pianist and composer from Philadelphia. Biography Early years Caine was born on June 8, 1956, in Philadelphia, to Burton Caine (1928–2023), a professor at Temple ...

* 2013: ''Sonic Boom'' (816 Music) With

* 2001: ''21 Years Later (Train Kept A Rollin')'' (

Leo Records Leo Records is a British record company and label, founded in 1979, which releases jazz from Russian, American and British musicians. It concentrates on free jazz. This label is different from the Leo Records that was formed by Edward Vesala i ...

) * 2005: ''Chad And Han'' (House Of Chadula) With

* 1971: ''

Orient The Orient is a term referring to the East in relation to Europe, traditionally comprising anything belonging to the Eastern world. It is the antonym of the term ''Occident'', which refers to the Western world. In English, it is largely a meto ...

'' (BYG) * 1971: '' Actions'' (Philips) With Daniele D'Agaro * 2003: ''Strandjutters'' (

hatOLOGY Hathut Records is a Swiss record company and label founded by Werner Xavier Uehlinger in 1974 that specializes in jazz and classical music. The name of the label comes from the artwork of Klaus Baumgartner. Hathut encompasses the labels hat ART, ...

), with Ernst Glerum * 2010: ''Fingerprints'' (Artesuono), with

With

Ellery Eskelin Ellery Eskelin (born August 16, 1959) is an American tenor saxophonist raised in Baltimore, Maryland and residing in New York City. His parents, Rodd Keith and Bobbie Lee, were both professional musicians. Rodd Keith died in 1974 in Los Angeles, ...

* 1998: ''Dissonant Characters'' (

) With Terrie Ex (and others) * 2000: ''The Laughing Owl'' (Terp Records) * 2002: ''Ethiopia Tour 2002'' (Not On Label) * 2006: ''Transparancy-Wolk 3'' (Terp Records), with Rik van Iersel,

Bart Maris Bart Maris is a Belgian trumpet player. He has performed in a very large number of bands, either as a group member or a guest musician on records or in concert. He was one of the original members of Fukkeduk with Niek Roseeuw, Kristof Roseeuw, ...

, and P Jacomyn * 2007: ''Zeng!'' (Terp Records) * 2010: ''Let's Go'' (Terp Records), with Brodie West With

Cor Fuhler Cornelis William Hendrik Fuhler (3 July 1964 – 19 July 2020) was a Dutch/Romani improvisor, composer, and instrument builder associated with free jazz, experimental music and acoustic ecology. He played piano by manipulating sound with electrom ...

and Wilbert De Joode * 1998: ''Bellagram'' (Geestgronden) * 1998: "Zilch" (ConundromCd) * 2003: ''Tinderbox'' (

) With

Frode Gjerstad Frode Gjerstad (born 24 March 1948) is a Norwegian jazz musician with alto saxophone as principal instrument, but he also plays other saxophones, clarinet, and flute. He has collaborated with Paal Nilssen-Love, Borah Bergman, Peter Brötzmann, E ...

* 2009: ''Han & Frode'' (

Cadence Jazz Records Cadence Jazz is an American record company and label specializing in noncommercial modern jazz. It is associated with ''Cadence'' magazine. Cadence Jazz was founded by Bob Rusch in Redwood, New York in 1980. By 2000 the label had issued more t ...

) With Kees Hazevoet * 1978: ''Calling Down The Flevo Spirit'' (Snipe Records) With Will Holshouser and

* 2011: ''Live In NYC'' (Ramboy Recordings) With

Kazuo Imai is a Tokyo-based guitarist who plays in a rigorous and original free improvisation idiom. His music joins the rigour and texture of contemporary classical with the passion of free jazz. He has played with many Western and Japanese improvisers, inc ...

* 2003: ''Across The Desert'' (Improvised Music From Japan) With Mikko Innanen and Jaak Sooäär * 2006: ''Spring Odyssey'' (TUM Records) With

With

Guus Janssen Guus Janssen (born 13 May 1951) is a Dutch composer of contemporary music and a recording artist. A pianist and harpsichordist, he is also active as a jazz performer. He studied piano and composition at the Sweelinck Academy of Music in Amster ...

* 2005: ''Groet'' (

) With

Steve Lacy Steve Thomas Lacy-Moya (born May 23, 1998) is an American singer-songwriter, guitarist and record producer. He gained recognition as the guitarist of the alternative R&B band the Internet, which he joined in 2015. His self-produced debut EP, '' ...

* 1978: ''Lumps'' (Instant Composers Pool), with

Michel Waisvisz Michel Waisvisz ( ; 8 July 1949, Leiden – 18 June 2008, Amsterdam) was a Dutch composer, performer and inventor of experimental musical instrument, experimental electronic musical instruments. He was the artistic director of STEIM in Amsterdam f ...

and Maarten Van Regteren Altena With

* 1983: '' I'm in the Mood'' (

Oldie Blues Oldie Blues was a Dutch record label founded and owned by Martin van Olderen. History The label was founded in 1974 and focused primarily on piano blues, boogie-woogie and Delta blues, issuing 46 LPs and 13 CDs.Wynn, Neil, ''Cross the Water Blu ...

) With

Keshavan Maslak Kenneth Keshavan Maslak, who also performs under the stage name Kenny Millions (born February 26, 1950), is an American jazz multi-instrumentalist, avant-garde performance artist, poet and restaurateur. Biography Kenneth Keshavan Maslak was bo ...

* 1980: ''Humanplexity'' (

), with Misha Mengelberg * 2008: ''Bim Huis Live 1st Set'' (Hum Ha Records) With

Myra Melford Myra Melford (born January 5, 1957) is an American avant-garde jazz pianist and composer. A 2013 Guggenheim Fellow, Melford was described by the ''San Francisco Chronicle'' as an "explosive player, a virtuoso who shocks and soothes, and who can m ...

* 1997: '' Eleven Ghosts'' (hatOLOGY) recorded 1994 With

* 1971: ''Instant Composers Pool 010'' (Instant Composers Pool) * 1972: ''Een Mirakelse Tocht Door Het Scharrebroekse no. 1-6'' (Instant Composers Pool) * 1974: ''EinePartieTischtennis'' ( FMP, Instant Composers Pool), live * 1975: ''Coincidents'' (Stichting ICP Geluidsdragers, Instant Composers Pool) * 1978: ''Midwoud 77'' (Instant Composers Pool) * 1978: ''Groupcomposing'' (

), with

Evan Parker Evan Shaw Parker (born 5 April 1944) is a British tenor and soprano saxophone player who plays free improvisation. Recording and performing prolifically with many collaborators, Parker was a pivotal figure in the development of European free ja ...

, Peter Bennink, Paul Rutherford, and Derek Bailey * 1978: ''Fragments'' (Instant Composers Pool), with

, and Derek Bailey * 1982: ''Bennink Mengelberg'' (Instant Composers Pool) * 1985: ''Change Of Season (Music Of Herbie Nichols)'' (

Soul Note Black Saint and Soul Note are two affiliated Italian independent record labels. Since their conception in the 1970s, they have released albums from a variety of influential jazz musicians, particularly in the genre of free jazz. History Black S ...

), with

George E. Lewis George Emanuel Lewis (born July 14, 1952) is an American composer, performer, and scholar of experimental music. He has been a member of the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians ( AACM) since 1971, when he joined the organization ...

, and Arjen Gorter * 1991: ''Dutch Masters'' (Soul Note), with Steve Lacy, George Lewis, Ernst Reyseger, and Han Bennink * 1994: ''Mix'' (Instant Composers Pool) * 1996: ''The Instant Composers Pool 30 Years'' (Instant Composers Pool) * 1998: ''MiHa'' (Instant Composers Pool) * 2001: ''Four in One'' (Songlines Recordings), with Misha Mengelberg Quartet (

, Brad Jones, Han Bennink) * 2004: ''Senne Sing Song'' (

Tzadik Tzadik ( ''ṣaddīq'' , "righteous ne; also ''zadik'' or ''sadiq''; pl. ''tzadikim'' ''ṣadīqīm'') is a title in Judaism given to people considered righteous, such as biblical figures and later spiritual masters. The root of the word ...

) With

Kenny Millions Kenneth Keshavan Maslak, who also performs under the stage name Kenny Millions (born February 26, 1950), is an American jazz multi-instrumentalist, avant-garde performance artist, poet and restaurateur. Biography Kenneth Keshavan Maslak was bo ...

* 2003: ''Bootleg'' (Hum Ha Records) With

Pino Minafra Pino Minafra (born 21 Juli 1951 in Ruvo di Puglia) is an Italian trumpeter and flugelhorn player who is associated with free improvisation, avant-garde jazz. A founding member of the Italian Instabile Orchestra, Minafra has recorded with such music ...

* 1987: ''Tropic Of The Mounted Sea Chicken'' (Splasc(H) Records), with Misha Mengelberg, Michele Lomuto, and Unknown Artist * 1991: ''Noci...Strani Frutti (Live At Europa Festival Jazz)'' (

), with

With

* 2001: ''White Widow'' (Ramboy Recordings), with Alex Maguire and

Mark Helias Mark Helias (born October 1, 1950) is an American double bass player and composer born in New Brunswick, New Jersey. He started playing the double bass at the age of 20, and studied with Homer Mensch at Rutgers University from 1971 to 1974, then ...

With

Simon Nabatov Simon Nabatov (born 11 January 1959) is a Russian-American jazz pianist. Early life Nabatov was born in Moscow on 11 January 1959. His parents were Leon, a professional pianist and choir conductor who was a native of Belarus, and Regina. Nabatov ...

* 2003: ''Chat Room'' (

) With Armen Nalbandian * 2011: ''Coup de Grace'' (Blacksmith Brother) With Mark O'Leary * 2008: ''Television'' (

Ayler Records Ayler Records is an independent record label that focuses on jazz, free jazz, and improvised music. History Named after saxophonist Albert Ayler, the label was founded in Sweden in 2000 by Jan Ström and Åke Bjurhamn. The majority of Ayler's ear ...

) With

* 1970: '' The Topography of the Lungs'' (

Incus The ''incus'' (: incudes) or anvil in the ear is one of three small bones (ossicles) in the middle ear. The incus receives vibrations from the malleus, to which it is connected laterally, and transmits these to the stapes medially. The incus i ...

) with Derek Bailey * 2002: ''The Grass Is Greener'' (psi) With Alessandra Patrucco * 2006: ''Circus'' (

), with

Tristan Honsinger Tristan Honsinger (October 23, 1949 – August 5, 2023) was an American cellist active in free jazz and free improvisation. He is perhaps best known for his long-running collaboration with free jazz pianist Cecil Taylor and guitarist Derek Baile ...

, and

Ab Baars Ab Baars (born November 21, 1955, in Axel, Netherlands) is a Dutch saxophonist and clarinetist who has had an active performance career since the 1970s. He has recorded several albums for the Geestgronden Records, Atavistic Records, and WIG rec ...

With

Dudu Pukwana Mthutuzeli Dudu Pukwana (18 July 1938 – 30 June 1990) was a South African saxophonist and composer. Early years in South Africa Dudu Pukwana was born in Walmer, Port Elizabeth, Walmer Township, Port Elizabeth, South Africa. He grew up studyin ...

* 1979: ''Yi Yole'' (

), with Misha Mengelberg With

Roswell Rudd Roswell Hopkins Rudd Jr. (November 17, 1935 – December 21, 2017) was an American jazz trombonist and composer. Although skilled in a variety of genres of jazz (including Dixieland, which he performed while in college), and other genres of musi ...

* 1983: ''

Regeneration Regeneration may refer to: Science and technology * Regeneration (biology), the ability to recreate lost or damaged cells, tissues, organs and limbs * Regeneration (ecology), the ability of ecosystems to regenerate biomass, using photosynthesis ...

'' (

), with

Kent Carter Kent Carter (born June 14, 1939 in Hanover, New Hampshire) is an American jazz bassist. His father, Alan Carter, founded the Vermont Symphony Orchestra. He is also the grandson of American artist, Rockwell Kent. He worked in Steve Lacy (saxophoni ...

, and Misha Mengelberg With Paul Ruys * 1966: ''Lover, Come Swing With Me'' (

Philips Koninklijke Philips N.V. (), simply branded Philips, is a Dutch multinational health technology company that was founded in Eindhoven in 1891. Since 1997, its world headquarters have been situated in Amsterdam, though the Benelux headquarter ...

), with

Pim Jacobs Willem Bernard "Pim" Jacobs (29 October 1934 – 3 July 1996) was a Dutch jazz pianist, composer and television presenter. Early life Jacobs was born on 29 October 1934 in Hilversum, the Netherlands. His parents were artistic. He started playing ...

Ruud Jacobs Ruud and Rud are surnames of Norwegian origin. Both are also Norwegian place names of numerous farmsteads named Rud or Ruud from Old Norse ''ruð'' meaning clearing. Ruud is also a Dutch masculine given name meaning "famous wolf" although it is al ...

, and Wim Overgaauw With

Manfred Schoof Manfred Schoof (born 6 April 1936) is a German jazz trumpeter. Career Schoof was born in Magdeburg, Germany. He studied music in Kassel and Cologne, where one of his teachers was the big band leader Kurt Edelhagen. Schoof performed on Edelhagen' ...

* 1969: '' European Echoes'' (FMP) With Irene Schweizer * 1996: '' Irène Schweizer & Han Bennink'' (Intakt Records) * 2015: '' Welcome Back'' (Intakt Records) With Jaak Sooäär * 2013: ''Beach Party'' (Barefoot Records) With

* 2003: ''Live'' (

Thirsty Ear Thirsty Ear Recordings is an American independent record label. It was founded in the late 1970s as a marketing company for the then-unnamed alternative music field, and expanded to issue its own records in 1990. Thirsty Ear came to prominence ...

), with

Matthew Shipp Matthew Shipp (born December 7, 1960) is an American avant-garde jazz pianist, composer, and bandleader. Early life and education Shipp was raised in Wilmington, Delaware. His mother was a friend of trumpeter Clifford Brown. He began playing ...

J Spaceman Jason Andrew Pierce (born 19 November 1965 in Rugby) is an English musician. Currently the frontman and sole permanent member of the band Spiritualized, he previously co-fronted the alternative rock band Spacemen 3 with Peter Kember from 1982 ...

, and William Parker With

Aki Takase (born January 26, 1948) is a Japanese jazz pianist and composer. Biography Takase was born in Osaka and started to play piano at age 3. Raised in Tokyo, she studied classical piano at Toho Gakuen School of Music.Ankeny, Jaso"Artist Biography". ...

* 2011: ''

Two for Two ''Two for Two'' is an album by Aki Takase and Han Bennink. Recording and music The album was recorded on 2–4 May 2011.

'' (Intakt Records) With

Cecil Taylor Cecil Percival Taylor (March 25, 1929April 5, 2018) was an American pianist and poet. Taylor was classically trained and was one of the pioneers of free jazz. His music is characterized by an energetic, physical approach, resulting in comple ...

* 1988: '' Spots, Circles, and Fantasy'' (FMP) With Rik van Iersel * 2005: ''Transparancy-Wolk No. 3'' (Rikordings)

References

External links

Biography and discography from the European Free Improvisation Pages
*

* * *: Solo by Bennink performed on a custom drum kit made from Dutch cheeses {{DEFAULTSORT:Bennink, Han Free jazz percussionists Free jazz drummers Dutch jazz drummers Dutch male drummers Dutch jazz percussionists Dutch jazz clarinetists Dutch trombonists Jazz trombonists Dutch jazz violinists Dutch jazz pianists 1942 births Living people Entertainers from Zaanstad Avant-garde jazz drummers Avant-garde jazz percussionists Dutch male jazz musicians ICP Orchestra members The Ex (band) members Clusone Trio members Ilk Records artists Atavistic Records artists FMP/Free Music Production artists Incus Records artists Intakt Records artists Psi Records artists Dutch multi-instrumentalists