European jazz of the 1950s has long fascinated me. World War II killed and injured tens of millions of people and seriously damaged countries' infrastructure, economies and the emotions of surviving populations. And yet, the optimism in these newly freed countries, supported by America's financial and military security, put them on track to recovery. As early as the late 1940s, modern jazz, with its improvisational expression and emphasis on the individual, became one of the few diversions that Europeans found in sync with the new spirit of freedom and a bright tomorrow.
Young European musicians who came of age in the late 1940s and at the dawn of the 1950s fell in love with American bebop and cool jazz recordings brought over by touring American musicians and then released there by European distributors. Once European musicians deciphered how to play modern jazz, dozens of great arrangers and artists emerged and united to form groups, recording on newly established European labels in London, Paris, Brussels, Amsterdam, Stockholm and elsewhere. The quality of the jazz remains remarkably excellent.
When we think of 1950s jazz in Europe, we often think of artists such as the U.K.'s Ronnie Scott, Victor Feldman, Johnny Dankworth, Tony Crombie and Jack Parnell; Belgium's Bobby Jaspar, Fats Sadi, René Thomas, Toots Thielemans, Jack Sels and Francy Boland; France's Henri Renaud, Roger Guérin, Pierre Michelot, Maurice Vander and Sacha Distel; and Sweden's Lars Gullin, Rolf Ericson, Arne Domnérus, Ake Persson, Gunnar Svensson and Rolf Blomquist. Plus dozens of others, including young jazz musicians from Germany, Italy and Austria.
Now, we have a new box on jazz in the Netherlands between 1955 and 1957. Released last month, Cool Jazz From Holland (Fresh Sound) is a two-CD set with a 28-page booklet that details the Dutch contribution with small group and big band recordings of bop and of cool jazz prominent on America's West Coast. The set features one fabulous harmony-rich, driven recording after the next. In fact, there are no bad tracks on this box. All 52 tracks are fabulous. You can listen from start to finish without ever skipping over any of the songs. And if I gave you a blindfold test, you'd swear I was playing you jazz recorded in Hollywood or New York in the '50s. [Photo above of Rita Reys courtesy of Fresh Sound]
I last posted about Dutch jazz nearly a year ago when I wrote about Rob Madna and Frans Wieringa. This new box features Madna and includes groups led by Rob Pronk, Wessel Ilcken, Tony Vos, Stido Alstrøm, Rita Reys, Herman Schoonderwalt, Frans Elsen and Pim Jacobs. I've already listened to this set five times and love every minute of it. Cool Jazz From Holland is one of my favorite historical sets of the year. The tracks were issued years ago on a variety of albums that are long out of print. This box brings this great music into the present and proves that the Netherlands was at the forefront of the European jazz movement.
What's most remarkable is the Dutch passion for the West Coast's relaxed sound. That's likely a result of Dutch musicians falling in love with the breezy, sophisticated quality of Chet Baker, Gerry Mulligan, Shorty Rogers, Jimmy Giuffre, Russ Freeman and others. As readers of my book, Why Jazz Happened know, I've always viewed West Coast jazz and its popularity as the product of Los Angeles optimism and musicians' upward mobility in the 1950s. It turns out that the West Coast sound reflects the optimism of anyone who feels gloriously free and happy to be alive.
JazzWax tracks: You'll find Cool Jazz From Holland (Fresh Sound) here.
JazzWax clips: Here's the Diamond Five playing Bobby Tale...
Here's Rita Reys singing But Not for Me backed by the Wessel Ilcken Quintet...
Here's the Tony Vos Quartet playing Like Someone in Love...
And here's the Wessel Ilcken All Stars playing The Goofer...
