I came across this announcement and I couldn’t help feeling very proud.

I have been visiting jazz concerts since I was very young. My father used to take me to Theater Pepijn in The Hague, De Tobbe in Voorburg and Thelonious in Rotterdam to see the jazz greats of that time. There were some people that we would go to see more often than others. Like Jarmo Hoogendijk or Ferdinand Povel.

And the Rein de Graaff trio. For 25 years Rein has been organizing tours, performing with internationally renown artists. I have seen many impressive concerts throughout the years, starting from a very early age.

Now you understand why it is that I feel so proud playing with Rein. Last year we did a short tour with flutist Sam Most, and now we get to play together again! Rein is celebrating his 70th birthday and his 25 year lustrum as an organizer. Other participants will be Houston Person(!), Sylvia Droste, Benjamin Herman, Ben van Gelder, Martijn van Iterson, Marius Beets and Eric Ineke. The week after we play at the Bimhuis.