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Bernardus Johannes Berkhout (born 18 April 1961, Santpoort, the Netherlands) is a family doctor, best known as a jazz clarinetist.
Berkhout studied medicine at the University of Leiden, the Netherlands, where he graduated in 1992. From 1992 until 2005, he worked as a doctor of orthopaedic medicine in Amsterdam (Kliniek Jan van Goyen Kade, Medisch Centrum Noord). From 1997 until 2000, he specialized in becoming a general practitioner. Since 2002, he has been working as a GP in Dordrecht, the Netherlands.
Bernhard Berkhout started playing the clarinet in 1970. Berkhout was discovered in the 1980s by the pianist Pim Jacobs, who presented him on Dutch television as a soloist with The Metropole Orkest under Rogier van Otterloo, together with the clarinettist Eddie Daniels. Subsequently, Berkhout founded a successful quintet with the vibraphonist Frits Landesbergen called The Swingmates. In the early 1990s, Berkhout was chosen by the Schilperoort family as a future leader of the Dutch Swing College Band, an appointment which was prevented by others after the death of Peter Schilperoort in 1990. As a result, Schilperoort's widow's wish was never granted.
Even though Berkhout had won numerous awards such as the Edison Grammy Award, soloist award at the Jazzfestival Breda and the Peter Schilperoort Bandleaders Award, [1] his musical activities dwindled in the 1990s, as he became more involved in medicine.
“Remarkable is Berkhout’s enormous drive. He becomes genuinely enthusiastic when other musicians play good solos and he lets himself be inspired to play clarinet solos of a calibre that has not been heard since the days of Jan Morks. He is Holland’s best jazz clarinettist by far.” (Bert Brandsma, saxophonist in the Chris Barber Jazz Band, Doctor Jazz magazine 2012) [2]
In 2004, Berkhout felt the ‘Zeitgeist’. He read a book by Lewis Erenberg called Swingin’ the Dream about the role of popular music in the Great Depression. He discovered that a new culture had bonded with popular music in the Swing era, like in the ‘Sixties’. Moreover, he concluded "that jazz was never so popular and popular music was never so sophisticated" as in the 1930s. In 2006, Berkhout started a long-term project next to his work as a doctor. He chose the format of clarinet-soloist with a big band as exemplified by Benny Goodman and Artie Shaw in the 1930s and 1940s. In 2008, "Doctor Bernard and His Swing Orchestra" was born.
Meanwhile, dancing has grown in popularity. The 1930s dance the Lindy Hop fits his music. In 2010, this sparked the idea to record a CD for the dancing audience, called Let’s Dance. In 2011, the band visited Great Britain and Denmark and in July of the same year, the band was the top attraction at The Amsterdam Lindy Exchange, where dancers from all over the world gathered to dance to swing music. The Band toured Switzerland and France in 2012.
There is now also a smaller Music Project called "Bernard Berkhout and Friends" which meets once a month in a Club and play together Jazz.
Berkhout is preparing a musical show in which music from the swing-era is brought to the present day. Spoken word and music will combine to show the relevance of American music from the Great Depression in today's world. They worked on the second CD of the "Doctor Bernard And His Swing Orchestra" project.
Doctor Bernard And His Swing Orchestra consists of Berkhout (clarinet); Mirjam van Dam (voice); Erik van der Weijden, Hans Goemans, Kurt Schwab and Bert Brandsma (saxophone); Nanouk Brassers, Michael Varekamp, Koos van der Hout (trumpet); Jack Coenen, Marcus Glas (trombone); Mark van der Feen (piano); Hans Voogt(guitar); Frans Bouwmeester (bass); Barry Olthof (percussion).
Benjamin David Goodman was an American clarinetist and bandleader known as the "King of Swing".
A big band or jazz orchestra is a type of musical ensemble of jazz music that usually consists of ten or more musicians with four sections: saxophones, trumpets, trombones, and a rhythm section. Big bands originated during the early 1910s and dominated jazz in the early 1940s when swing was most popular. The term "big band" is also used to describe a genre of music, although this was not the only style of music played by big bands.
Swing music is a style of jazz that developed in the United States during the late 1920s and early '30s. It became nationally popular from the mid-1930s. The name derived from its emphasis on the off-beat, or nominally weaker beat. Swing bands usually featured soloists who would improvise on the melody over the arrangement. The danceable swing style of big bands and bandleaders such as Benny Goodman was the dominant form of American popular music from 1935 to 1946, known as the swing era, when people were dancing the Lindy Hop. The verb "to swing" is also used as a term of praise for playing that has a strong groove or drive. Musicians of the swing era include Duke Ellington, Benny Goodman, Count Basie, Cab Calloway, Jimmy Dorsey, Tommy Dorsey, Woody Herman, Harry James, Lionel Hampton, Glenn Miller, Artie Shaw, Jimmie Lunceford, and Django Reinhardt.
James Fletcher Hamilton Henderson was an American pianist, bandleader, arranger and composer, important in the development of big band jazz and swing music. He was one of the most prolific black musical arrangers and, along with Duke Ellington, is considered one of the most influential arrangers and bandleaders in jazz history. Henderson's influence was vast. He helped bridge the gap between the Dixieland and the swing eras. He was often known as "Smack" Henderson.
Artie Shaw was an American clarinetist, composer, bandleader, actor and author of both fiction and non-fiction.
Eugene Bertram Krupa was an American jazz drummer, bandleader and composer. Krupa is widely regarded as one of the most influential drummers in the history of popular music. His drum solo on Benny Goodman's 1937 recording of "Sing, Sing, Sing" elevated the role of the drummer from an accompanist to an important solo voice in the band.
Theodore Shaw Wilson was an American jazz pianist. Described by critic Scott Yanow as "the definitive swing pianist", Wilson's piano style was gentle, elegant, and virtuosic. His style was highly influenced by Earl Hines and Art Tatum. His work was featured on the records of many of the biggest names in jazz, including Louis Armstrong, Lena Horne, Benny Goodman, Billie Holiday, and Ella Fitzgerald. With Goodman, he was one of the first black musicians to perform prominently alongside white musicians. In addition to his extensive work as a sideman, Wilson also led his own groups and recording sessions from the late 1920s to the 1980s.
Roland Bernard "Bunny" Berigan was an American jazz trumpeter and bandleader who rose to fame during the swing era. His career and influence were shortened by alcoholism, and ended with his early demise at the age of 33 from cirrhosis. Although he composed some jazz instrumentals such as "Chicken and Waffles" and "Blues", Berigan was best known for his virtuoso jazz trumpeting. His 1937 classic recording "I Can't Get Started" was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1975.
The swing era was the period (1933–1947) when big band swing music was the most popular music in the United States. Though this was its most popular period, the music had actually been around since the late 1920s and early 1930s, being played by black bands led by such artists as Duke Ellington, Jimmie Lunceford, Bennie Moten, Cab Calloway, Earl Hines, and Fletcher Henderson, and white bands from the 1920s led by the likes of Jean Goldkette, Russ Morgan and Isham Jones. An early milestone in the era was from "the King of Swing" Benny Goodman's performance at the Palomar Ballroom in Los Angeles on August 21, 1935, bringing the music to the rest of the country. The 1930s also became the era of other great soloists: the tenor saxophonists Coleman Hawkins, Ben Webster and Lester Young; the alto saxophonists Benny Carter and Johnny Hodges; the drummers Chick Webb, Gene Krupa, Jo Jones and Sid Catlett; the pianists Fats Waller and Teddy Wilson; the trumpeters Louis Armstrong, Roy Eldridge, Bunny Berigan, and Rex Stewart.
Joseph Edward Filippelli, known professionally as Flip Phillips, was an American jazz tenor saxophone and clarinet player. He is best remembered for his work with Norman Granz's Jazz at the Philharmonic concerts from 1946 to 1957. Phillips recorded an album for Verve when he was in his 80s. He performed in a variety of genres, including mainstream jazz, swing, and jump blues.
Erik van der Luijt is a Dutch jazz pianist and keyboard player, arranger and composer.
Michael Andrew "Peanuts" Hucko was an American big band musician. His primary instrument was the clarinet, but he sometimes played saxophone.
Reginald Clifford Kell was an English clarinettist. He was noted especially for his career as a soloist and chamber music player. He was the principal clarinettist in leading British orchestras, including the London Philharmonic, Philharmonia, and Royal Philharmonic, and was also active as a solo recording artist.
"Sing, Sing, Sing " is a 1936 song, with music and lyrics by Louis Prima, who first recorded it with the New Orleans Gang. Brunswick Records released it on February 28, 1936 on the 78 rpm record format, with "It's Been So Long" as the B-side. The song is strongly identified with the big band and swing eras. Several have performed the piece as an instrumental, including Fletcher Henderson and, most famously, Benny Goodman.
Murray McEachern was a Canadian jazz trombonist and alto saxophonist, perhaps best known for having played trombone for Benny Goodman from 1936 to 1937. McEachern is also remembered for playing both the trombone and alto saxophone for the Casa Loma Orchestra from 1937 to 1941.
Abraham Samuel Richman, better known as Boomie Richman, was an American jazz tenor saxophone player who played with Tommy Dorsey. He also played clarinet, bass clarinet, piccolo, and flute.
Walt Levinsky was an American big band and orchestral player, composer, arranger, and bandleader. While many of his big band assignments were as lead alto sax player, his favorite instrument was the clarinet.
Julian Bliss is a British clarinettist and clarinet designer. He has performed as a soloist, chamber and jazz musician, notably with his teacher Sabine Meyer. He also designed the Bliss Clarinet for instrument manufacturer Leblanc.
A Study in Frustration: The Fletcher Henderson Story is a box set compilation surveying studio recordings of the Fletcher Henderson Orchestra from 1923 to 1938, released in 1961 on Columbia Records, CXK 85470. It initially appeared as a four-album set produced by Frank Driggs and assembled by John Hammond, both of whom also wrote the liner notes. The set was part of a Thesaurus of Classic Jazz series on Columbia which included King of the Delta Blues Singers also worked on by Hammond and Driggs and released in 1961, the first album reissue of songs by blues legend Robert Johnson.
Will Hudson(néArthur Murray Hainer; March 8, 1908 – July 16, 1981) was a Canadian-born American composer, arranger, and big band leader who worked from the mid-1930s through the mid-1950s.
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