Together with his brother Gideon he won the Prinses Christina Jazz Concours in Utrecht last year. They also won the Audience Award. Ben van Gelder, a young talent from the Dutch province Groningen studies the alto saxophone with Ferdinant Povel and Albert Beltman in the entrance course of the Amsterdam Conservatory. Next to that he takes lessons with Don Braden, Dick Oatts and Benjamin Herman. As a kid Van Gelder used to study classical piano. After four years he’d become fed up with the emphasis on technique. He wanted to play in a more informal way. At the age of ten he switched to saxophone. He found inspiration in his father’s impressive record collection and musicians such as John Coltrane, Charlie Parker and Hank Mobley became his biggest role models. Besides his brother Gideon, his quartet consists of bassist Jos Machtel and drummer Joost van Schaik.
