Nana

On July 4, during the ITF 2000 in Utrecht Ben van Dijk's first solo CD "Nana" was released.

 
Ben van Dijk and Max Thein, hand over the first CD to Piet van Dijk,
Ben's father to whom he dedicates the CD

These great musicians and wonderful friends helped me to create this first soloCD

Joseph Alessi
Brandt Attema
Bernard Beniers
Martin vd Berg
David Finlayson
Donald Harwood
André Heuvelman
Remko de Jager
Sarah Koch
Eddy Koopman
Alla Libo
Bart van Lier
Jan Oosting
Hendrik-Jan Renes
Ilja Reijngoud
Martin Schippers
Nico Schippers
Alex Verbeek
Jos Verspagen
Pierre Volders
George Wiegel

Nana, much more than a name

Anyone who is going to listen to the cd of a bass trombonist, prepares for impressive and massive sounds from the lowest registers of the musical palet. Therefore the name Nana immediately raises questions, because ‘nana’ is the Spanish word for lullaby and babies are attached to the high and softly singing voices of their mothers. That seems an unbridgeable contradiction. It could also be a relativization. In my opinion there is mostly a challenge in this title: the intention to make the usual (sound) image of the bass trombone wider and richer.

That happens primarily through the vocal approach for which is chosen on this cd. An approach that becomes obvious from the selected repertoire and, even more, from the unprecedented lyrics and melodiosity with which Ben van Dijk plays his instrument. Also he is accompanied by impressive – and an impressive number of – colleagues.

The title piece, presented as an encore, gives a glowing impression of that vocal approach. The sound warmth, the souplesse and the ease with which the different registers are played make this piece a beneficient listening experience. Ben van Dijk himself took care of the arrangement and also plays the guitar section; this illustrates his love for flamenco and for the rhythmic, melodic and emotional load of (this) music. But let us start at the beginning.

Evocation received Ben van Dijk as a present when he changed over from the ‘Radio Filharmonisch’ to the ‘Rotterdams Philharmonisch Orkest’’ (RPhO). At his request Nick Woud wrote a piece for brass quartet in classical style. All four performers, André Heuvelman, Jos Verspagen, Pierre Volders and Ben van Dijk – members of the RPhO – play Thein-instruments.

Nick Woud, who also wrote ‘Dances’ on this cd, is connected to the ‘Radio Filharmonisch Orkest’ as Principal timpanist. As a composer he is an autodidact; so far his accent has been on music for brass players. His ‘Serenade’ for bass trombone solo and four tenor trombones was recorded by Ben van Dijk with trombonists of the ‘Berliner Philharmoniker’.‘Evocation’ uses classical and baroque musical material, but in a more romantic, free form. The short fanfare opening is immediately followed by a lyrical passage and on the basis of those elements the piece unfolds as a sort of phantasy. The prominent role of the bass trombone is interwoven in the composition in a very natural way, by means of imitations in other instruments, for instance. The role of ‘precentor’ is convincingly played by Ben van Dijk, but also the other three performers play with great subtlety.

Albinoni was the first composer who, at the beginning of the 18th century, broke the tradition of concertos for strings with solo concertos of lasting value. They are characterized by a striking lyrical style with long and strong melodic lines. This is also true for his sonatas. In the Adagio (from the Sonata in F Major) we hear the bass trombone in an extremely warm and eloquent register. In an almost non articulated and yet defined start we recognize Van Dijk’s admiration for Michel Becquet’s play.

Also Eugène Bozza possessed a striking affinity with writing for solo instruments and especially for brassplayers. He himself was a violinist and until 1948 also a conductor; after that he became director of the conservatory of Valenciennes. His compositions demand much from the performers, but they are extremely expressive in their musical effect. This is also true for Bozza’s ‘Quintet’ for example, which counts as one of the highlights in brass literature. As many of Bozza’s compositions for brass, New Orleans was written for the Concours de Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique. It is one of the most interesting original compositions for bass trombone and piano. The tripartite piece opens with a broadly spun out cadenza, in which the entire register (at least four octaves) is used. In the piano accompaniment we immediately recognize jazz influences, which Ben van Dijk strongly exploits. This is certainly the case in the sensual middle part, through a broad vibrato for instance, and with accentuated glissandos. We recognize the expressive bluenote-motive not only from Bozza’s Balade for tenor trombone, but also from Milhaud for example. In the dancing third part trombone and piano have more equal roles. This means little rest for the ‘slide-hand’ of the trombonist. The enormous intervals that ring in the close are put down solidly by Ben van Dijk.

Over a glass of wine and subdued conversation we listen to the Sonata in D minor by Joseph Bodin de Boismortier. It is quite likely that his original public did the same. Boismortier was an expert in optimally exploiting the musical fashion of his time – light and easily consumable music for the high society. The new editions of his sonatas that appear again and again prove that part of his vast oeuvre contains timeless quality.In these duets, which were originally written for two cellos Ben van Dijk is accompanied by Bernard Beniers, tuba player of the ‘Radio Filharmonisch Orkest’. Beniers here plays the Thein-cimbasso, an original Italian instrument that we know from Verdi’s and Puccini’s operas for example.

The homogenity and lightness of this perfomance make us forget within no time that we are dealing with an unusually low duo here.

Returning to original work for brass players, we meet Henri Tomasi. Until he was fifty five he combined composing with a briljant career as a conductor. As a composer he created a kaleidoscopic oeuvre, in which he left no style untouched and for which he drew from the most diversing musical sources.: Fauré, Puccini – the French impressionists – Corsican. Provencal and Georgian folk music – jazz – twelve-tone music. Characteristic here is Tomasi’s fancy for song, dance and drama. At a later age Tomasi wrote among other things pieces for singers, actors and for dancers and orchestra. Many of the elements mentioned above can be found back in a concentrated form in Être ou ne pas être. In this ‘’Monologue d’Hamlet’ the dramatic possiblities of the trombone are fully exploited. Initially, like the rei in classical tragedy, the three tenor trombones comment on the soloist; later on their role becomes more clearly an accompanying one. Very effective are the contrasts between the shrill subdued parts (among other things with the fast glissandos) and the massive open passages, mostly narrowly composed and hard to penetrate. The dramatic expressivity of the monologue is increased by strong contrasts in dynamics, tempos and rhythm. The final phrases of the soloist leave the key question of his monologue completely open and unanswered.

With Pierre Volders, Remko de Jager and Alexander Verbeek we here listen to the trombone section of the ‘Rotterdams Philharmonic Orkest’, which also performs as an independent quartet.

The rich vocal sound of George Roberts (USA’s Mr Bass trombone) has been an example for many players for years. After the big bands of for example Gene Krupa – with among others Urble Green in the section – and Stan Kanton, Roberts permanently settled down on the west coast, especially stimulated by a meeting with Nelson Riddle, The recording sessions with Sinatra, but also with Tony Bennett, Sarah Vaughan and others further inspired Roberts to develop his lyrical style, which can be admired in hundreds of filmscores for instance. Ben van Dijk asked trombonist Ilja Reijngoud to write an homage to Mr Roberts. In this quintet we can hear the prime Dutch trombonist players in jazz music: part of the section of the ‘Metropole-orkest’, together with the composer. This tripartite suite contains much solo space for the bass trombone. The accompaniment varies; in the first part, in medium swing, we can hear a traditional big band section en blocque.

Improvisations by Bart van Lier and Ilja Reijngoud alternate the lead part. Then, a ‘composed’ improvisation by Ben van Dijk. In the ballad, the second part, we can hear the combination of a lyrical bass trombone and a sweetstyle trombone section. The short solo again is Reijngoud’s. In the following third part traditional paths are abandoned. Both bass trombonists – with a beautiful contribution by Martin van den Berg, who is also the producer of this cd – put down a solid groove, whereupon the three tenors play a mixture of pop and latin music.

In this part we can hear Jan Oosting’s special lead qualities.

Joe Alessi is one of the most admired tenor trombonists of this moment. He is not only solo player and principal trombonist of the New York Philharmonic Orchestra; also, new recordings of Alessi as a soloist and in a trombone-quartet appear regularly. In Dances by Nick Woud equally expressive roles are played by Alessi and Van Dijk. After the opening with an oriental touch, in which the minor third and second are introduced as dominating intervals, we can hear a habanera for example, a mixture of a waltz and a tarantella and a dynamic Balkan dance with alternating melody and accompaniment functions for either trombonist. A pas-de-deux to keep listening to.

For me, for more than one reason, the two motets by Anton Bruckner constitute the highlight of this cd. Here we can listen to the complete trombone-choir, from the alto trombone up to and including the contrabass trombone, all four Thein instruments! Inside and outside of The Netherlands Ben van Dijk is well known for his sublime command of the contrabass trombone. Here he is in the distinguished company of the trombone section of the New York Philharmonic. Besides, in the concept of this cd, it has been a very successful choice not to record Bruckner’s ‘Aequale’ ( or Beethoven’s for that matter), but two of his motets: Locus Iste and Vexilia Regis. There is probably no instrument that can equal the fullness of a four-part choir more beautifully than the trombone.

The sound of tubaist Hendrik Jan Renes has been one of Ben van Dijk’s most important sources of inspiration. For that reason, Renes’s soloist contribution, in a composition by Saskia Apon dedicated to him and played on a Thein C-tuba. The Moose is an agreeable sort of ‘loose’ composition, which however requires from the tuba player to display all the possiblities of the instrument: from heavy and percussive to light and cantabile, virtuoso and with a wide range (of five octaves). Hendrik Jan Renes is a famous soloist and ensemble player. He teaches at the conservatories of Rotterdam, The Hague and Antwerp. Together with Ben van Dijk he forms the solid basis of the brass section of the RPhO. Saskia Apon is a harpist and a self educated composer. She is the home composer of the Rotterdam Philharmonic Brass Ensemble.

Of course an aria cannot be absent on a cd with vocal aspirations. Van Dijk rewrote Susanin’s Aria from Glinka’s‘Ivan Susanin – a life for the tsar’. With this opera dated 1836 Glinka became the creator of a national Russian style of composing. Ben van Dijk could have desired no one more suited to accompany him. In 1992 pianist Alla Libo left St. Petersburg where she was born, for a permanent stay in The Netherlands; she is connected to the Rotterdam Conservatory.

No bravura and show of virtuosity in this aria. The simple and melancholic song could be called a ‘nana for adults’.The modest interpretation , I think, is impressive and moving.

Imagine that Frescobaldi would have written his music on a planet still to be discovered. Eddy Koopman, percussionist and composer/arranger, was asked to do so.

He arranged one of Frescobaldi’s themes to a trendy synthesizer piece which reveals an unexpected component of Van Dijk’s wide musical interest. Different things pass: ‘Close encounters’, Irish folk, a funny little church organ, spacy strings and a notable choir. Among all this the bass trombone finds its own way, particularly gracefully – and, by the way, skilfully mixed -.

Finally, The Chief by John Stevens was written to immortalize the nickname of Emory Remington, who for almost 50 years conducted the legendary trombone class of the Eastman School of Music.The trombone class which Ben van Dijk accompanies here, is well on its way to conquer a similar status. The Rotterdam Conservatory disposes of a unique teaching concept and six exclusively connected famous trombone teachers: George Wiegel, Jörgen van Rijen, Piere Volders and Ben van Dijk for the classical department, Bart van Lier and Ilja Reyngoud for jazz. Students get into touch with all teachers and thus with all styles of playing, from classical music to jazz, rock and world music.

Every week there are extensive collective warming-up sessions and there is a trombone choir in which about 30 trombonists participate. Thus, Rotterdam is the breeding ground for the future, for all-round trombone talents. More explanation? Sit back and listen to six tastefully piled – and played! – trombone parts; they accompany a bass trombonist whose phenomenal command and pleasure in playing can be heard in every note he plays.

Which brings us back to Nana and repeat the question: does this cd enrich the idea that we have of the sound and possibilities of the bass trombone? Absolutely.

But Ben van Dijk achieves more. In many places he succeeds in putting the thought of the instrument entirely in the background ( the closing guitar sounds are significant in this connection). The accent lies on what he wishes to communicate and therefore this cd, much more than characterizing the instrument, is first and foremost a portrait of an impressive musical personality.

©Kees Adolfsen {trombonist en textwriter}
Translation: Annette Schmoutziguer

Ten years of Thein
This cd is the result of my 10-year cooperation with the Thein brothers. Each visit to Bremen for me has been a rich source of inspiration. Max and Heinrich Thein not only have clear ideas and sound ideals concerning brass instruments, they also possess the knowledge and skill to give these ideas a ‘material translation.’ For me the sound quality of their instruments again and again creates new and further expression possibilities.

The inspiration of my parents Piet and Hetty has always been there to guide my musical life.

I dedicate this cd to my father, in love and with respect.

I am grateful to Aaltje, Mark and Erik for their ever-lasting love, support and critical ears.

Also I would like to thank all my friends and colleagues who put so much of their time, energy and musicality in this recording. I am especially honoured with the cooperation of the trombonists of the New York Philharmonic Orchestra on this cd. All performers are mentioned elsewhere; mentioning everone by name here would go too far. Nevertheless, my gratitude is great.

The person I would like to name here is Martin van de Berg, my great help and stay as producer of this cd. Without his collegiality, his efficiency and his enormous dedication the ambitious plan and planning of this project would never have had a chance to succeed.

Despite the efforts many people made, this cd would never have existed without the sympathetic and generous support of the Thein brothers. Through this cd I hope to share my enthusiasm for their instruments with as many colleagues and other interested people as possible.

 
This is the back of the booklet of the CD with the repertoire and players.

Producer, Martin van den Berg and sound magician,
Paul Pouwer doing their great job.