BIOGRAPHY (English)
BIOGRAPHY (English)
UPDATE 14 January 2008
Listen to the compilation of CD Love Revisited, release date 2 February 2008.
Order Love Revisited and other CD's of Toon in the WEBSHOP
Toon at the Blue Note Festival 2005 in Gent, Belgium by Jos L. Knaepen
TOON ROOS A SINGER OF SONGS
Toon Roos is considered one of the finest tenor and soprano saxophonists in Europe who's lyrical style of playing is highly appreciated by the audience, press and colleagues. Toon is a true and unique storyteller, intuitive and soulful, with a lot of blues, and above all, a strong sense of swing. His playing, as Steely Dan co-founder Walter Becker once put it, is ‘so well-balanced, that every note has a musical meaning.’ As Joe Zawinul commented on Toon's style of playing, it's 'easy, nice and easy... you feel the music.'
Toon feels comfortable in different styles of music, from the big band swing tradition to hardbop, from bossa nova to funk and fusion. In 2001 he won the Bird Award, an international jazz prize, presented annually during the North Sea Jazz Festival in The Hague. The Bird Award jury wrote:
'Toon Roos is multi-faceted, plays in the most diverse ensembles, and when it comes to command of the sax, he stands out from all the rest. There is an enormous expressiveness in his performance. His instantly recognisable sound on the tenor sax is round and flexible. He disposes of great harmonious insight, fluent melody and robust timing. Although his roots are traditional, Toon Roos is part of the modern generation of jazz musicians who know no stylistic borders, and with that is a worthy exponent of the current state of affairs in jazz music.’
by Jos L. Knaepen
1984 - THE FIRST QUARTET
Toon Roos (say Tone Rose) , born 11 April 1964, started his international career with a performance of the Toon Roos Quartet at the North Sea Jazz Festival in 1984, after which an extensive tour in Holland followed. Soon he made his first tour abroad to Italy playing at the Puglia Jazz Festival. With his quartet he recorded his debut album 'First Impression' for Timeless Records. Toon also received the Wessel Ilcken Prize, an encouragement prize for young jazz talent. In 1985 Toon finished a three year study at the Rotterdam Conservatory with saxophonist Ferdinand Povel.
In 1989 Toon went to New York City with a grant from the Dutch government and took private lessons with tenorists George Coleman, Bob Berg and Bill Evans. During his five months stay Toon learned a lot on many levels. He did a lot of playing on sessions, performed several nights with organist Jack Macduff at the Showman's Café in Harlem and was invited on stage by Toots Thielemans to sit in with his quartet with pianist Fred Hersch at the jazzclub Fat Tuesday's.
Toon has performed and recorded several albums as a band leader with the Toon Roos Quartet and the Toon Roos Group, and as a band member and guest soloist with many jazz and fusion groups: O Septeto of Jan Dumee, Batida of José Koning, the Amsterdam Jazz Quintet, the Ack van Rooyen/Toon Roos Quintet and Peter Ypma plus Eleven with among others altosax player Ben Herman.
He was a member of reputed jazz orchestra’s such as the John Clayton Big Band, the Dutch Jazz Orchestra and the Netherlands Concert Jazz Band directed by Henk Meutgeert. He performed and recorded as guest soloist with the Skymasters and the Netherlands Metropole Orchestra on several occasions, working with conductors/arrangers Jerry van Rooyen, Rob Pronk, Rogier van Otterloo and Vince Mendoza. They arranged standards and originals for Toon and recorded the music for several Dutch radio shows.
Toon & Piet Noordijk at the Bird Session, North Sea Jazz Festival, July 2005 by Jos L. Knaepen
DUTCH JAZZ ORCHESTRA
Along with his quartet another mainstay of Toon’s musical career has been the Dutch Jazz Orchestra (DJO), of which Toon was a permanent member and an important soloist for twenty years ever since its formation in 1983. The renowned orchestra under the direction of conductor and arranger Jerry van Rooyen started as a hobby orchestra of professional studio musicians who dedicated themselves to the music of Thad Jones. Over the years they have scored many successes both in The Netherlands and the USA with many different projects. One of the highlights was the performance and recording of newly discovered works of composer and arranger Billy Strayhorn, in his time the right-hand man of Duke Ellington. In the USA more than 12.000 copies were sold of the corresponding CD ‘Portrait of a Silk Thread’. The American press was unanimous in their enthusiasm for both the music and its execution by the Dutch Jazz Orchestra.
A highlight for the band was the performance in Pittsburgh, USA in 1995. The DJO was invited by the International Duke Ellington Society to play the newly discovered Strayhorn music and give masterclasses. The DJO recently released a 4 CD box with originals and standards, arranged by Billy Strayhorn on Challenge Records. Another highlight for Toon was the album Update recorded by the DJO with the music of the late pianist/composer/arranger Rob Madna, with Rob and Toon as featured soloists.
Read more on the DJO on www.dutchjazz.nl
Ravi Coltrane & Toon at the Bird Session by Tom van der Zaal
INTERNATIONAL
Since 1984 Toon has performed in clubs, theatres and at jazz festivals through out Belgium, Germany, Switzerland, France, Spain, Portugal, Luxembourg, Denmark, Norway, Italy, Bulgaria, the Caribbean, Mexico, the USA and China.
Over the years he performed and/or recorded with many jazz greats such as
Toots Thielemans, Kenny Werner, Danny Gotlieb, Jimmy Haslip, Jack Macduff, Art Blakey, George Mraz, Enrico Pieranunzi, Hein van de Geyn, Rob Madna, Eef Albers, Philippe Catherine, Pete Christlieb, Willie Tee, Walfredo Reyes Jr., David Fathead Newman, Clark Terry, Bob Brookmeyer and Bud Shank. Recently Toon made recordings for pianist Ivan Paduart with drummer Manu Katché (Sting, Joni Mitchell, Manu Katché Group).
A highlight for Toon was his performance with keyboard legend Joe Zawinul who invited Toon to play with him on an all-star session of Bird winners at the North Sea Jazz Festival of 2005. On stage with Toon on this historical jam were Zawinul, harmonica virtuoso Toots Thielemans, guitarist John Scofield, pianist Barry Harris, tenor Ravi Coltrane, bass player Christian McBride and drummer Bill Stewart. After an inspiring session, a tribute to Charlie ‘Bird’ Parker, Zawinul came up to Toon and said: ‘Thanks for playing with us. You deserve it - you’re a great player.’
A few months later Zawinul again invited Toon to play, this time at his club Birdland in Vienna at a benefit concert for New Orleans. They performed several songs in an intimate quintet setting. Zawinul, seldom seen with saxophone players since his performances with Wayne Shorter, commented that night: ‘You sound good, man... you play easy, nice and easy… you feel the music.’
Toon and Joe Zawinul in Birdland, Vienna, November 2005 by J. Hammerschmid
TOON ROOS GROUP
In 2003 the creative journey brought Toon to produce his fourth album Free At Last. On this funky jazz album, the Toon Roos Group reaches the highest possible inspiration in their 'sensual fusion', blending jazz, funk, rock, latin, African and other elements into a thing of their own. The heat they produce is especially felt in the live recordings on this album that also contains some overwhelming studio tracks. Most of the songs on this album are composed by Toon and pianist Karel Boehlee. The Toon Roos Group combines some of the best Dutch jazz/pop musicians and features guitarist Peter Tiehuis, a Dutch guitar great, who has performed with world top artists such as George Duke, Randy Crawford, Herbie Hancock, Gino Vanelli and Chaka Khan.
The presentation concert of the CD Free At Last was part of a three-night jazz & fusion serie in De Melkweg, Amsterdam with the Joe Zawinul Syndicate and Uri Caine. Since then the Toon Roos Group has performed for enthusiastic audiences in jazz clubs and festivals like the North Sea Jazz Festival in The Hague and the World Port Jazz Festival in Rotterdam. In 2004 the group performed at the North Sea Jazz Festival Cape Town in South Africa.
Jean-Paul Heck wrote in the 'Telegraaf': 'Toon Roos and his impressive band showed in Cape Town how they, beyond any doubt, match the greats of our time.'
You can order the CD at the webshop of this site.
The Toon Roos Group at the Calypso Theatre in Rotterdam, April 2003 by Ton van Leeuwen
2008 - LOVE REVISITED
In 2008, Toon Roos celebrates his 25th anniversary as an artist with the presentation of his new CD ‘Love Revisited’. On this album Toon revisits the romanticism of the jazz standards combined with original compositions. On Saturday 2 February 2008, his fifth CD was presented to the audience with a performance at the Bimhuis in Amsterdam and a special appearance of Hans Dijkstal as guest speaker. This was the start of their CD promotion tour, see page CONCERTS. Check out more pictures of the Bimhuis CD presentation by Fred van Wulften.
The new Toon Roos Quartet has an all-star line up with Karel Boehlee on piano and synthesizer, Hein van de Geyn on double bass and Joost van Schaik on drums. Sound, groove, lyricism and interaction are key elements in the performance of this quartet. Toon: ’After the funky jazz of ‘The Human Feel’ and ‘Free At Last’ I felt an urge to return to the acoustic quartet and the never-ending potential of the standards. It feels like flying a private jet, heading for the most exciting destinations.’
Love Revisited demonstrates the powerful chemistry of the TRQ, especially between Toon and Karel, a partnership that goes back many years. With Toon, Karel recorded the album ‘Attitudes’ in 1987 and ‘Free At Last’ in 2003. He is one of the most creative pianists in the Netherlands, and has developed a personal style of playing, lyrical with an intense groove. Karel and bass player Hein van de Geyn know each other well, travelling together as regular band members of the Toots Thielemans Quartet, touring in several European countries, South Africa, Brazil and Japan. Karel teaches piano at the jazz department of the Conservatory of Amsterdam. Read more about Karel on www.karelboehlee.com.
The TRQ recording Love Revisited in the Dudok Studio, Amsterdam in October 2007 by Lex Tanger
Hein van de Geyn has been establishing himself as one of the most sought after bass players in Europe. He has worked with numerous celebrities like Chet Baker, Lee Konitz and Dee Dee Bridgewater and regularly works with John Abercrombie in his own band 'Baseline'. Hein is head of the bass section in the jazz department of the Royal Conservatory in The Hague. Read more about Hein on www.baselinemusic.nl
Joost van Schaik is one of the finest jazz drummers from the Netherlands with great musical understanding and a serious groove. He plays with several jazz groups and has worked with many great artists such as Curtis Fuller, James Moody, Toots Thielemans, Lew Tabackin, Bert Joris, and the Brussels Jazz Orchestra. He has been teaching jazz drums at the conservatories of Rotterdam, Groningen and Enschede since 2001.
Successful performances of the Toon Roos Quartet in recent years were amongst others the Bird Award concert at the North Sea Jazz Festival 2001, the concert at the Kurhaus in The Hague in 2002 and the concert on Valentine's Day 2003 at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam.
WHAT ELSE
At this moment Toon also performs with pianist Ivan Paduart and singer Fay Claassen, with whom he recorded the live CD A Night at the Music Village, including a duet of Toon with Toots Thielemans on Toon's composition Vienna's Touch. Toon also performs as guest soloist making studio recordings and live performances. Read more on Ivan on www.ivanpaduart.com.
Since 1993 Toon has been teaching saxophone at the jazz department of the Conservatory of Maastricht for ten years, and has given masterclasses at the conservatories of Hilversum (now Amsterdam) and Groningen. At this moment Toon teaches saxophone at the jazz departments of the Royal Conservatory of The Hague, and the Conservatory of Utrecht.
QUOTES
'Feeling, lots and lots of feeling, you hear a structure that rises up layer by layer, with nuances and ornamentation as balanced as a painting by Juan Miro. Toon Roos truly is one of our contemporary greats.'
Coen de Jonge - editor JAZZ
'The saxophone solos of Toon Roos are of exceptional beauty.'
Ton Ouwehand - Jazz Nu