Former Philips CEO Cor Boonstra is a great fan of Thelonious Monk. In his home in Kipdorp in Antwerp, work by this designer of the bebop piano is regularly on the turntable. It's no surprise that the former CEO of a major electronics group's spacious mansion features a sound studio, aptly named Chicken Village. There Boonstra invited pianist Michiel Borstlap, bassist Ernst Glerum and drummer Han
… Bennink to record a number of pieces by his beloved pianist. The trio, also known as BBG, spent a few days in Antwerp and played many audio tapes (in this case probably state-of-the-art hard disk) full of Monk compositions. Of course this happened again in a sublime way, as we are used to from these three top improvisers from the Dutch jazz scene. Pieces like Four In One, Epistrophy and Evidence were given surprisingly dynamic interpretations, whereby the incredibly swinging work of Han Bennink (only on a snare drum!) Deserves a special mention. A class CD, with a matching cover in Philips blue. (HB)more