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ERIC INEKE – THE ULTIMATE SIDEMAN
Eric Ineke has been an integral part of the Dutch jazz scene since the 1960’s. Inspired by Tiny Kahn, Kenny Clarke, Philly Joe Jones and Elvin Jones he grew out to be the ultimate sideman for many at home and abroad. With a combination of solid craftsmanship and amazing swing feel, he has emerged over the years as an important ambassador of bebop and hard bop. Not least for the youngest generations of musicians, with whom he keeps the fire of jazz burning both at the Royal Conservatory of The Hague, where after 35 years of formal teaching he is now artist in residence, and during masterclasses abroad. Students get infected by his anecdotes about legendary musicians like Dexter Gordon, Johnny Griffin and George Coleman, Ben Webster, Hank Mobley, Phil Woods, Lucky Thompson, Dizzy Gillespie, Freddie Hubbard, Woody Shaw, Wynton Marsalis, Jimmy Raney, René Thomas, Peter Bernstein, Duke Jordan, Al Haig, Barry Harris, Tete Montoliu, Steve Nelson, Dave Liebman, all of whom were lucky enough to share the stage with Eric. He was part of illustrious bands such as the Rob Agerbeek Quintet, the Rein de Graaff / Dick Vennik Quartet, the Rein de Graaff Trio, The Piet Noordijk Quartet, Free-Fair, the Rob Madna/Ferdinand Povel Quartet, the Dutch Jazz Orchestra, the Ben van den Dungen/Jarmo Hoogendijk Quintet and The Pinheiro/Ineke/Cavalli trio.
In 2006 Eric founded his own formation, The Eric Ineke JazzXpress, that quickly grew into one of the country’s most in-demand jazz formations. Not surprising when you realize that the group consists of the 'fine fleur' of the Dutch jazz scene. Over the years, the JazzXpress has played with guest soloists such as Deborah Brown and Ronnie Cuber. The band has since recorded eight albums, the latest of which together with alto saxophonist Tineke Postma: 'What Kinda Bird Is This', a tribute to one of Eric's greatest heroes, Charlie Parker.
When Eric turned 70 in 2017 he was knighted by the deputy mayor of Amsterdam on behalf of the Dutch King, as Knight in the Order of Oranje-Nassau, for his unbridled dedication to the Dutch Jazz scene. And now he still travels the world playing the music that he loves so much, and keeps on to inspire the new generations of jazz musicians. In his latest project, entitled Norway, he paid tribute to legendary piano player Frans Elsen (one of the founders of the jazz department of the Royal Conservatoire), performing the ‘Norwegian cycle’ that Elsen composed in the 1970’s. With this new program Eric recorded a special for the Dutch Heritage and the Dutch Jazz Archives. The same group also played the North Sea Jazz Festival in 2022, a festival where Eric has performed for over 40 times. The show was broadcast on Dutch national TV.
Text: Jurjen Donkers