Han Bennink (Holland) — Drums, Percussion
One of the hardest swinging drummers in jazz and improvised music, Han Bennink has a reputation as an unpredictable, anarchic, and electrifying performer. Well known for his physicality and his strange sense of humor, Bennink's solo concerts lie somewhere in the realm of virtuosic percussion performance, vaudeville theater, and dadaist performance. He is famous for coaxing the most unusual sounds from his drums, for augmenting his kit with found debris, and for drumming on any surface available (walls, floors, chairs, his own body).
In Holland in the 1960s, Bennink was quickly recognized as an uncommonly versatile drummer. He accompanied touring American jazz stars, including Sonny Rollins, Ben Webster, Wes Montgomery, Johnny Griffin, Eric Dolphy, and Dexter Gordon. At the same time, Bennink participated in the creation of a European improvised music that began to evolve a new identity, apart from its jazz roots.
His collaborators in the worlds of free jazz and free improvisation include most of the important artists in the music: Don Cherry, Eric Dolphy, Misha Mengelberg, Willem Breuker, John Tchicai, Peter Brötzmann, Evan Parker, Derek Bailey, Steve Lacy, Roswell Rudd, George Lewis, Eugene Chadbourne, Dave Douglas, and many others. Han has also performed with the punk rock band The Ex, with whom he has done two tours of Ethiopia.
Artist Links:
Han Bennink's Website
Han Bennink @ European Free Improvisation Pages
Han Bennink @ All About Jazz
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