Photo shoot at the Jazz Museum Rotterdam 18-20th of June 2015

Photo shoot at the Jazz Museum Rotterdam 18-20th of June 2015

How thing sometimes just seem to happen… I walked by the entrance of the museum and ran into Wim van Zon, initiator of the Jazz Museum Rotterdam. After the usual “how are you” and stuff like that he asked me if was interested i filming and taking photo’s of some famous Dutch jazz musicians for DJAZZ.tv. Of course I was interested! The concept was that six different photograhpers would interview and film selected musucians through the eye of a photographer as their point of view is different to a cameraman on film. Also we had to choose an iconic photo to inspire our set up. I chose a Duke Ellington picture sitting behind the piano with only a spotlight on him. What inspired me on this picture was to see the vulnerabillity of a musician and the guts to open themselves up to an audience, as a matter of fact, people you don’t know, have never seen before and actually still don’t see as the theatre is completely dark as if you’re looking into a black hole. So I chose my studio set up to be black and use only one spotlight a little from the side to create hard contrasts and keep the focus on the persons expression as they tell their story. On Thursday the 18th of June I had the first five musicians in front of my camera. So interesting to talk to such a variety of personalities! Everyone with basically the same story to tell as I asked all of them the same questions, but all with a different vibe, so far apart that you wont be...

Clinic and cymbal presentation 20-6-2012

Another clinic with Juan van Emmerloot, this time in Rotterdam at Peter Verpuy’s music store. Actually it was more about presenting a new line of low budget cymbals from Paiste, one of Juan’s endorsements. Knowing Juan, of course the audience got more than they bargained for. Again the energy and openness that Juan provides had the audience listening and participating with full attention, also their questions were answered with more than a few words, naturally… Looking back on it, it was another successful mission we accomplished. Another clinic with Juan van Emmerloot, this time in Rotterdam at Peter Verpuy’s music store. Actually it was more about presenting a new line of low budget cymbals from Paiste, one of Juan’s endorsements. Knowing Juan, of course the audience got more than they bargained for. Again the energy and openness that Juan provides had the audience listening and participating with full attention, also their questions were answered with more than a few words, naturally… Looking back on it, it was another successful mission we...

Drummerie Eindhoven

May 20th A good way to spend your Sunday could be visiting an Ikea store or the zoo, something like that, but I liked going to the Drummerie, hosted by Drumstation in Eindhoven. A whole day of drummers and other musicians playing, giving clinics, exposing instruments they represent and of course people coming to watch and enjoy the whole event. Some get to talk with their idol, some meet people from long time ago. We all know the world of musicians is a smaal world and again this was proven as I met some people I haven’t seen for ages. Of course I was here with Juan as he also had to give some clinics. My job as one of the clinic team was to take pictures of the event. I really enjoyed doing this as it felt like about 20 years ago when several music stores organised events in the same way. Unfortunately this died out due to money of course and maybe some other reasons. I hope this event is a kick off for a restart… May 20th A good way to spend your Sunday could be visiting an Ikea store or the zoo, something like that, but I liked going to the Drummerie, hosted by Drumstation in Eindhoven. A whole day of drummers and other musicians playing, giving clinics, exposing instruments they represent and of course people coming to watch and enjoy the whole event. Some get to talk with their idol, some meet people from long time ago. We all know the world of musicians is a smaal world and again this was proven as...

Drums United with Misirli Ahmed

April 27 and 28 Two Drums United concerts in a row! Lucas invited a guest, Misirli Ahmed from Instanbul, Turkey. This man is a true master on darbuka, a percussion instrument from the Middle East, mainly Egypt, but also this instrument is used as widely as from Turkey to Iran. Anyway the tecniques this man uses on this instrument is like magic! It’s not often that one sees this speed and still the groove stays, but Misirli Ahmed has it all! I could advise you to check this YouTube fragment: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eqb2cySEpZk Of course combined with the other great musicians in Drums United, it turned out to be a mind blowing concert on both evenings. On Friday Niti Ranjan Biswas was representing the Eastern instruments and on Saturday Afra Mussawisade took on the stage. It was hard work, but worth every minute hanging out with the guys again. There’s always lots of humor and excellent craftsmanship. What more could you wish for, especially when you have your camera ready to capture the moment… April 27 and 28 Two Drums United concerts in a row! Lucas invited a guest, Misirli Ahmed from Instanbul, Turkey. This man is a true master on darbuka, a percussion instrument from the Middle East, mainly Egypt, but also this instrument is used as widely as from Turkey to Iran. Anyway the tecniques this man uses on this instrument is like magic! It’s not often that one sees this speed and still the groove stays, but Misirli Ahmed has it all! I could advise you to check this YouTube fragment: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eqb2cySEpZk Of course combined with the other...

Drums United

Saturday 21st April It’s been a while since I joined Drums United as a stage tech for a concert in the Netherlands. Due to tax raises and funding cuts in the theatres, the budget for these kind of productions became minimal, so Tam Tam productions had to find other ways to have the stage built. In the other European countries I’m still the one to do the job, in Holland they are forced to use interns to do it. Well now there was no one available, so I was called in again. I must say I really missed the “family”. It was really nice hanging out with the guys again. Off course building the stage and breaking it down after the show is no ride in the park. It’s hard work, but worth it as the show always stands for quality and the audience just loves it. It was also nice driving there with my friend and sountech Bulu who is also a great percussionist. We had a lot to talk and laugh about. Of course you are always home late, as for me I was home at 1:30 at night with a tired, but fullfilling feeling. So good to be in the music scene in different disciplines and people from all over the world. I feel blessed… During the show I have plenty of time to take photo’s and also I have the privelage to go backstage and take pictures from behond the stage, this can result in some exclusive pics. In the near future there will be a lot of pictures displayed on my shop:robtix@sjootz.nl. Feel free...

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