This year, bebop pianist Rein de Graaff (1942) will say farewell as a concert pianist and organizer of spectacular tours. He is the éminence grise of Dutch jazz. During his career, spanning 60 years, he has played with many legends, including Hank Mobley, Lee Morgan, Dexter Gordon, Sonny Stitt, Lee Konitz, and Johnny Griffin. But the pianist, who comes from the Northern-Dutch city of Veendam, has also encouraged a lot of Dutch talents, like the three alto saxophonists with whom he performs: Maarten Hogenhuis, Marco Kegel and Tineke Postma. They are all top-of-the-line performers on their instruments and experienced interpreters of De Graaff’s favorite style of music. The trio of ‘Professor Bop’ also consists of bassist Marius Beets and drummer Eric Ineke. Their act is called Alto Madness - a veritable genuflection to the legendary Charlie Parker - although a famous baritone saxophonist will also join them: American Ronnie Cuber (1941), who can also be heard on De Graaff’s legendary album New York Jazz, recorded in New York in 1979.
