Frans Elsen

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Elsen (Rotterdam, 1960). Saxophone: Jack Sels

Frans Elsen (born May 28, 1934 in Den Haag (Voorburg); † February 23, 2011 there ) was a Dutch jazz pianist, vibraphonist, arranger and composer .

Elsen is one of the bebop pioneers in the Netherlands. In the 1950s he played in the combo of Wessel Ilcken and was involved in the early modern jazz recordings "Jazz behind the Dikes" in 1955 . He played in numerous groups of his own (trios, quartets, quintets), for example in the late 1960s with Herman Schoonderwalt and Cees Smal in the "Hobby Orkest". He also had his own big band, which he took over from Cees Smal in 1964. She opened the first North Sea Jazz Festival in 1976. He accompanied and played with Woody Shaw , Zoot Sims , Stan Getz , Clark Terry , Chet Baker , Joe Henderson , Pia Beck (1955), Don Byas (1952), Art Farmer , Oscar Pettiford , Donald Byrd , Oliver Nelson , Ben Webster , Charlie Mariano , Michael Brecker , Barry Harris , Mel Lewis .

In 1985 he reconstructed the "Birth of the Cool" session by Miles Davis in 1949 on Dutch radio .

Elsen studied piano from 1953 to 1959 at the Royal Conservatory in The Hague with L. Orthel. As a jazz pianist he was self-taught. He taught at the conservatories in Hilversum and The Hague , whose jazz section he helped to set up, as he was significantly involved in the integration of jazz in all leading conservatories in the Netherlands in the 1970s. He taught jazz piano, theory, ensemble playing and arrangement and published books on jazz improvisation, jazz piano and arrangement (including Jazz harmony at the piano , 2 volumes). He also arranged and composed for theater, film, radio and television.

In the 1960s and 1970s he played a lot in Indonesia, was often at jazz festivals in Europe and played regularly at De Engel van Amsterdam . Most recently he has often appeared with his own trio and played in the quintet of Ferdinand Povel and John Marshall .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Date of birth according to Wim van Eyle u. a. Jazz & Geimproviseerde Muziek in Nederland , Het Spectrum 1978
  2. ↑ Jazz pianist Frans Elsen overleden , parool.nl of February 24, 2011 (accessed June 24, 2011)
  3. ↑ His first record with his own trio was released in 1953 (Omega), with his own quartet in 1955 (Philips)
personal data
SURNAME Elsen, Frans
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Dutch jazz pianist, vibraphonist, arranger and composer
DATE OF BIRTH May 28, 1934
PLACE OF BIRTH The hague
DATE OF DEATH February 23, 2011
Place of death The hague