In the years immediately following World War II, shellac production for export resumed in Indonesia and American labels cranked out records for international distribution. American jazz records made their way into every major market and turned up on the radio in countries recovering from the misery of war and anxiety of brutal occupation. [Photo above of Rob Pronk]
Modern jazz's free spirit and exhilarating expression of individualism captivated the imaginations of millions of people worldwide. Among them were budding musicians eager to speak the same musical language they heard on the radio and on jukeboxes. One of these remote, curious artists was a trumpeter and pianist named Rob Pronk.
Born in Malang, Java, Indonesia, in 1928, during Dutch colonial rule, Pronk came to jazz early, probably a result of his father, who was a railway engineer and likely picked up records during his travels. Piano lessons began at age 8 and arranging soon followed. In 1947, Pronk sailed to Rotterdam, Holland, with his brother. The Netherlands had resumed colonial control of Indonesia after the war, so Indonesia and Holland resumed close ties.
There, Pronk studied economics but soon studied trumpet, piano and music theory at the Royal Conservatory in the Hague. On a student-exchange program, he played his first gig on a ship in 1949. Also that year, he visited New York. When he returned to Holland, he formed the Rob Pronk Boptet. Through the 1950s and '60s, he performed on trumpet and piano in a range of Dutch jazz groups. He also arranged for a variety of artists, and later arranged and conducted for the Metropole Orchestra. Sadly, he didn't do too much small-group leadership recording.
Now, the Netherlands Jazz Archief label has released Rob Pronk: The Bebop Years, Studio Sessions (1950-1957). The collection is a captivating portrait of an artist with enormous talent. The collection includes Pronk's recordings with saxophonist Zoot Sims, trombonists Frank Rosolino and Bob Burgess, bassist Don Bagley and drummer Stan Levey while they were in Sweden touring with Stan Kenton in 1953. The set also includes top-notch recordings with a range of Dutch jazz musicians in the '50s.
Highlights include Pronk's recording of Boplicity just months after the song was first released by Capitol as part of the Miles Davis Nonet project (later known as Birth of the Cool). My guess is that since Pronk was in New York in '49, he likely picked up a copy of the 78 there (along with others, including by the George Shearing Quintet, which formed in '49) and brought them home to the Netherlands. Miraculous that Pronk would have heard it so soon and applied a Shearing touch to the piano. And there's a nifty cover of Corner Pocket recorded in the Netherlands in 1957. In truth, there isn't a bad track on this set.
This is an album of knockout jazz by an Indonesian artist who emigrated to the Netherlands and truly understood the modern jazz idiom and how to express it authentically. To the best of my knowledge, it's the first time the material has appeared on CD. Rob Pronk died in Germany in July 2012. He was 84.
JazzWax tracks: You'll find Rob Pronk: The Bebop Years, Studio Sessions (1950-1957) here.
You can email the label to find out how to purchase the album. The email ([email protected]) and phone are at the bottom of the page linked above. I couldn't find this album for sale anywhere else.
JazzWax clips: Here's Boplicity (Miles Davis and Gil Evans), with Rob Pronk on piano playing gorgeous George Shearing-like improvisation as well as block chords late in the song...
Here's Pronk on trumpet playing Dizzy Gillespie and Gil Fuller's I Waited for You...
And here's Jerry van Rooyen's Baby Doll, with Pronk on trumpet...
