Lex Jasper

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2017 at the Florence Swingt Jazz Festival

Lex Jasper (born March 24, 1949 in Groningen ) is a Dutch jazz musician ( piano , composition , arrangement ).

Live and act

Jasper made his professional debut in the 1960s at the Noorder Ballroom Orkest , where he performed with saxophonist Jenne Meinema. He was also a member of the Big Band 67 founded by Meinema , for which he arranged most of the songs at the time.

In the development of his piano playing he was influenced by Erroll Garner , Oscar Peterson and Bill Evans . He became the regular pianist of the VARA dance orchestra and the KRO house orchestra. He accompanied great American jazz musicians in the TROS jazz program Sesjun by Cees Schrama (1936–2019). In the mid-1970s, Jasper worked as a constant companion and musical director of the cabaret artist Paul van Vliet . Together they recorded the album A Dutch Treat (1975).

Jasper formed his own trio with bassist Rob Langereis (followed by Marius Beets) and drummer Peter Ypma . As a soloist and composer, he released the albums Out of My Heart (1975, with his Lex Jasper Trio), Lexpression (1986, with the Metropole Orkest), Les Jasper Solo (1988) and Lexcursions (1994, with the Lex Jasper Trio) . He arranged mainly for the Metropole Orkest , but also for the BBC Big Band , the NDR Radiophilharmonie and the NDR Big Band . Among other things, he composed the song Vlaanderen , which is considered the second national anthem in the Flemish part of Belgium.

In the late 1970s, Jasper toured the Netherlands, Belgium and Italy with Toots Thielemans and Stéphane Grappelli . Concerts and recordings with Joe Pass , Herb Geller , Bobby Shew , Clark Terry , Phil Woods , James Moody , Bob Brookmeyer and John Clayton followed . In 1998 he played with bassist Dave Green and drummer Martin Drew for a week at Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club .

Jasper has also accompanied singers like Helen Sachs , Eddy Doorenbos, Cleo Laine , Ernestine Anderson , Greetje Kauffeld , Silvia Droste , Etta Cameron and Mark Murphy . In 1995 he played with Shirley Bassey in Theater Carré . With Rita Reys , with whom he recorded the album Memories of You in 1983 , he worked after the death of Pim Jacobs at numerous concerts and tours; In 1998 the album Loss of Love: Rita Reys Sings Henry Mancini was created with the NDR Radiophilharmonie .

In 2001, two car accidents resulted in Jasper being barely able to appear for almost a decade and a half due to whiplash ; it was not possible for him to sit and play at the piano for long periods of time in concerts. Visits to the studio were also rare. Jasper was one of the initiators of the annual Swingin 'Groningen festival and worked for the Prins Claus Conservatory .

In 2016 there was a comeback with his album Happy Days Are Here Again , recorded in a trio with Edwin Corzilius on double bass and Frits Landesbergen on drums. Appearances with Marjorie Barnes, Greetje Kauffeld and the North Pole Orchestra followed . His album Notes from the Netherlands (2019) with Vincent Koning on guitar and Frans van Geest on bass was presented as “Jazz CD of the Week” on NDR .

In 2019 Jasper was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Order of Orange-Nassau for his life's work .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b entry (PopArchiefGroningen)
  2. ↑ a b Jazz CD of the week
  3. ↑ Lex Jasper Presents… Marjorie Barnes, Vincent Koning and Frans van Geest
personal data
SURNAME Jasper, Lex
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Dutch jazz musician (piano, composition, arrangement)
DATE OF BIRTH March 24, 1949
PLACE OF BIRTH Groningen