It has been said that Dutch jazz pianist Peter Beets plays bop as if he invented the genre single-handedly. Parker 51, a piece on Beets' new CD New Groove, shows an explosive pleasure in playing that completely underscores the statement mentioned above. Peter Beets was born into a musical family and it is no wonder he and his two brothers ended up in the music business. In 1985 the brothers - with Marius on double bass and Alexander on tenor sax - started performing under the name The Beets Brothers. Yet, it was the pianist of the band who got the most acclaim and who won many national and international prizes. In 2001 he signed with Criss Cross, a label that allowed him to record his albums in New York with first-class musicians like Reginald Veal and Herlin Riley. Because Beets and his New Groove Trio play without a drummer, the sound is even more transparent and you can actually hear the hammers of the grand piano percuss the snares. This is what bop must have sounded like in the fifties.
