Dutch Master: Drummer Han Bennink to Perform Jan. 27

Han Bennink playing the drums with one foot raised in the air

Han Bennink

January 9, 2012 — As part of his 70th birthday world tour, the Charlottesville Jazz Society and WTJU present drummer/percussionist Han Bennink in concert Jan. 27 at 8 p.m. in Brooks Hall at the University of Virginia.

WTJU, 91.1 FM, is U.Va.'s community radio station.

Bennink, born near Amsterdam in 1942, first played percussion using a kitchen chair. Later his father supplied him with a more conventional drum kit, but Bennink never lost his taste for coaxing sounds from unlikely objects

In the 1960s, Bennink was quickly recognized as an uncommonly versatile drummer. As a hard swinger in the tradition of his hero, Kenny Clarke, he accompanied such American stars as Sonny Rollins, Eric Dolphy and Dexter Gordon. He is heard with Dolphy on the 1964 classic "Last Date" (PolyGram). 

Bennink participated in the creation of a European improvised music scene, and with fellow Dutch pioneers, pianist Misha Mengelberg and saxophonist Willem Breuker, he founded the still-active musicians collective "Instant Composers Pool" in 1967.

Over the years, Bennink has toured tirelessly and appeared on hundreds of recordings with the likes of South African bassist Harry Miller, soprano saxophonist Steve Lacy, trombonists Roswell Rudd and Ray Anderson, and big-band leaders Sean Bergin and Andy Sheppard.


For the Brooks Hall concert, Bennink will perform with violinist Mary Oliver, along with several guest improvisers from the Charlottesville area. Tickets will be available only at the door. General admission is $12 ($10 for members of the Charlottesville Jazz Society and $5 for students).

For information, call 434-249-6191 or visit www.cvillejazz.org. Listen to WTJU the week prior to the concert to hear Bennink's music and have a chance for free tickets.

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