The
Martijn Schok Boogie & Blues Band is the swinging band of Dutch boogie
woogie and blues pianist Martijn Schok. Line-up is Martijn Schok (piano),
Greta Holtrop (vocals), Olaf Hoeks (tenor saxophone), Maarten Kruijswijk
(drums) and Hans Ruigrok (bas.
The band plays swinging boogie woogie, exciting rhythm 'n blues, emotional blues songs and soul-jazz. This combination of styles results in a very groovy mix of roots music, centered around piano boogie woogie and piano blues, played by the Dutch master of the genre.
The music of the band is great for dancing, and is also great listening music because of the varied repertoire and the musical qualities of the individual bandmembers.
The
band toured in Denmark, Germany, Belgium, Italy, France, Spain and the
USA. Martijn and his band also performed during the famous Jazzfestival
in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA, and the North Sea Jazz Festival in Holland.
The
band is the 'home band' of the International Boogie & Blues Festival
Holland, accompanying international piano players from all around the
world.
Martijn Schok Boogie & Blues Band. Photo: Robert Joore
Band tour in Sweden
The band after the show in Västerås, Sweden
Martijn Schok (piano)
The name Martijn Schok is synonymous with boogie woogie and piano blues. Martijn has played many European jazz and blues festivals and can be seen regularly at festivals in the USA.
Martijn performs solo, as well as with his swinging band, and has up till now released sixteen successful boogie woogie CDs. Also, Martijn can be heard on many CDs as a guest boogie woogie or blues piano player.
October 19th 2013, Martijn received the German Pinetop Boogie Woogie Award "Pianist Of The Year 2013/2014". This award is the most important music award for Boogie Woogie in Germany and was awarded for the third time.
Martijn's piano style is characterized by a large dose of swing, a steady groove and a high degree of virtuosity. It is clear he has a great deal of admiration for the music of the early American boogie woogie originators.
Martijn is a respected interpreter of the boogie woogie style and appears at famous international festivals, such as the festival in New Orleans (Louisiana, USA), the Queen City Blues Festival in Cincinnati (Ohio, USA), the Motor City Boogie & Blues Festival in Detroit (Michigan, USA), Blues Passions in France, and the international boogie woogie festivals in Switzerland, Belgium, France, Italy, England, Spain and the USA.
Besides his performing qualities, Martijn is the Artistic Director and founder of the Heineken International Boogie & Blues Festival Holland.
Photo: Christian Palm
Greta Holtrop (vocals)
With her versatile vocal talent and charismatic stage presence, singer Greta Holtrop forms the perfect partner for Martijn’s swinging piano style. Her expressive voice, full of sincerity and emotion, seduces the ear with sultry interpretations of sensitive blues songs, turning just as easily to lively, swinging boogies. Boogie woogie great, Big Joe Duskin, has described her vocal tone as somewhere between Billie Holiday and Dina Washington.
Together with Martijn, Greta performed during Boogie Woogie and Blues Festival in the USA, Switzerland, France, Belgium and England. Greta also sang with other top boogie woogie players such as Bob Seeley (USA), Charlie Booty (USA), Jean-Paul Amouroux (F), Axel Zwingenberger (D), Ricky Nye (USA), Little Willie Littlefield (USA), Silvan Zingg (CH), Stefano Franco (It) and Mark Braun (USA).
Greta was the vocalist and presenter of the successful theatre show, The Grand Piano Boogie Train with pianists Martijn Schok, Jaap Dekker and Jeroen Sweers.
Greta performed many times for national television in Holland as well as regional TV stations in the USA.
Olaf Hoeks (tenor saxophone)
Self thaughtt, inspired by the great swing tenors and rhythm
'n blues tenors from the 40's and 50's, such as Illinois Jacquet and Red
Prysock.
Olaf shared the stage with many musicians including the Rosenberg Tria
and the American crooner Ingram Washington.
Olaf's
motto is: it don’t mean a thing if it ain't got that swing...!
Hans Ruigrok (bass)
After graduating from the Conservatory of Music in 1986, Hans Ruigrok
(1955) toured Western Europe for 7 years with Wil Salden's Glenn Miller
Orchestra.
He plays and played with PB and the Nighttrain, Max Teawhistle, Big Jay
McNeely, Georgie Fame, Johnny Meijer, Bolle Jan Froger, Rinus Groeneveld,
Wouter Kiers and many others.
His preference is Jazz, Boogie Woogie, Blues and Soul. But he is also
very fond of Amsterdam accordion music.
Hans also ran Jazzcafe 't Geveltje in Amsterdam for many years.
Maarten Kruijswijk (drums)
In the life of the Amsterdam based drummer Maarten Kruijswijk (1964) the groove is the central thing. After completing his education at the Dutch Conservatory in 1989, he performed for three years in the salsa band Fruta Bomba. After that he played with tenorsaxophone player Rinus Groeneveld and played with Big Jay McNeely.
Maarten's jazz preference is Swing and Boogie. Combining these very swinging styles with his experience with Latin rhythms results in a natural basis for playing groovy New Orleans beats.
Because of his work as a drummer at the Dutch Academy for Dancing, he is always inspired to play music in a way that can be well danced on. "Rhythms exist to be danced on and to have fun!"
Stephan Jankowski (guitar)
The band can be joined by Stephan Jankowski on guitar.
Stephan
studied guitar at GIT in Los Angeles, then came to Hilversum where he
attended the conservatory. For 10 years he was electric guitarist in Upside
Down, the backing band of saxophonist Rosa King with whom he toured half
the world.
He went on to work with: Georgie Fame, Hans Dulfer, Hans Zilver, Fronk,
Arthur Umbgrove, Rick de Vito, P.B. & The Nighttrain, Sofie &
Sofour, Skymasters, Hot Bolshevik, Double Brown, Sister Sledge, Jack Clement,
the Watchman, All The King's Roses, Aggieland and many others.
Stephan is also active as a producer and runs his own NOPO recording studio
in Amsterdam.
Eduardo Blanco (trumpet)
Eduardo Blanco received his musical education all over the world, and each experience throughout the years is reflected in his own style - an intricate, atmospheric, deeply personal interpretation of vintage old jazz. His journeys around the world provided him with ever-changing careers that clearly show his great versatility – from playing gigs every night in the lively music scene in Barcelona, Spain, to studying jazz for two years at the renowned Berklee College of Music in Boston, USA, or jamming with jazz greats at vibrant clubs deep in the heart of Amsterdam.
His versatility is further demonstrated by his sessions with salsa legend Pete ‘El Conde’ Rodriguez and big band DVD recordings in Barcelona’s premier concert hall Palau de la Musica. But his focus remains, as it always has, on his true love: performing early bebop with the best jazz musicians available – as a tribute to his musical heroes and because of a heartfelt passion for the genre.
After teaching at Barcelona’s famous Taller de Musics music school for six years he returned to Holland permanently. Since then he has quickly become an in-demand session player and a respected bandleader with his own quintet.
His widely recognized talent and commitment to bringing classic jazz to new audiences worldwide brought him into contact with two jazz legends: drummer John Engels and bassist Jean Louis Rassinfosse, both of whom worked extensively with the late great Chet Baker. Engels and Rassinfosse recognized in Blanco a shared passion for pure jazz and were thrilled when Blanco brought them together to share the stage again after so many years.
