STEVE GROSSMAN, saxophone
MARTIN SASSE, piano
HENNIG GAILING, double bass
JOOST VAN SCHAIK, drums
STEVE GROSSMAN
Steve Grossman, born January 18, 1951 in New York City, is one of the last heroes in the idiom of straight ahead hard bop jazz a la Sonny Rollins. His career, however, started in 1969 in Miles Davis’ fusion band where he replaced Wayne Shorter. A little later he worked with Lonnie Liston Smith before he joined the band of Elvin Jones from 1971-1973.
An endless list of cooperation and recordings under his name follows: Joony Booth, Joe Chambers, Billy Higgins, Cedar Walton, David Williams, Walter Booker, Tyler Mitchell, Art Taylor, Barry Harris, Reggie Johnson, Avery Sharp, McCoy Tyner, Tom Harrell, Harold Land, Michel Petrucciani, Don Alias, Jan Hammer, Jimmy Cobb, Al Foster and…
Today he lives mostly in Europe, notably France and Italy, and his bands are lined-up with the top of European musicians.
MARTIN SASSE
Born 1968 Hamm/Westphalia. Studied classical piano at Folkwanghochschule in Essen, and jazz at Musikhochschule in Köln. A member of the Bundesjazzorchester (Federal Jazz Orchestra) (Herbolzheimer). Since 1998, a Professor at the Johannes Gutenberg University in Mainz.
Awards: Karlsberg Jazzpreis, Hennessy Jazz Search, Kulturförderpreis der Stadt Hamm, Piano Competition Kalicz, etc.
Played, toured and recorded with: Benny Bailey, Peter Bernstein, Al Foster, Dusko Goykovich, Till Brönner, Gary Campbell, Jeff Cascaro, Jimmy Cobb, Silvia Droste, Peter Fessler, Jeff Hamilton, Paul Heller, Vincent Herring, Chuck Israels, Tony Lakatos, Brian Lynch, Charlie Mariano, John Marshall, New York Voices, Adam Nussbaum, Ferdinand Povel, Rolf Römer, Jesse van Ruller, Tierney Sutton, Toots Thielemanns, Peter Weniger. (web.me.com/martinsasse/martinsasse.com)
HENNIG GAILING
Henning is an excellent basser. – (Lee Konitz)
Gailing is certainly one of the few modern bass players saturated with the sounds of Oscar Pettiford, Pau Chambers and Israel Crosby. – (John Goldsby)
… a beat like Charles Mingus … marvellous arco-playing … (John Ruocco)
The King of Swing in Cologne and probably the most solid bass player I have ever worked with. – (Steve Klink)
Excellent sound, real groove i melodic solos characterise this saught after bass player from Cologne Henning Gailing.
Live and/or studio performances incorporate collaborations with well-known American and European musicians such as: Jimmy Cobb, Lee Konitz, Charlie Mariano, Vincent Herring, Peter Bernstein, Dick Oats, Dan Barrett, Brian Lynch, Joe Diorio, Gregory Hutchinson, Judy Niemack, John Marshall, John Ruocco, Gary Campbell, Bill Dobbins, Syntia Sayer, Eddie Ericson, Jiggs Whigham, Charly Antolini, Ferdinand Povel, Jesse van Ruller, Cees Slinger, Greetje Kauffeld, Silvia Droste, Olaf Polziehn, Tony Lakatos, Paul Heller, Gustl Mayer, Engelbert Wrobel, Chris Hopkins and Bruno Castellucci, among others.
JOOST VAN SCHAIK
Joost van Schaik, born 10-31-74, in Zwolle started playing drums at the age of six and took his first lessons when he was ten. At the age of twelve he played Dixieland in the group of his father. During that time he also got interested in the modern jazz of the 40’s, 50’s and 60’s. At the age of sixteen he entered the preparation year at the Zwolle Conservatory, combined with private lessons from some of Holland’s best jazz drummers like John Engels, Henk Zomer and Han Bennink.
When he was eighteen he entered the Conservatory in Hilversum, where he studied e.g. with Marcel Serierse and Cees Kranenburg. He graduated Cum Laude.
In 1995 he was the winner of the “tama drummers award”, a prize for the most promising young drummer of the Benelux. In that same year he went to New York, where he studied with: Jeff “Tain” Watts, Kenny Washington, Carl Allen and Gregory Hutchinson.
Since 1994 he has played with e.g. Curtis Fuller, James Moody Toots Thielemans, Lew Tabackin, Toon Roos, Benjamin Herman, Jasper Blom, Karel Boehlee, Martijn van Iterson, Jarmo Hoogendijk, Rein de Graaf, Bert Joris, Nathalie Loriers, Hein van de Gein, Brussels Jazz Orchestra and many others.
He is a current member of: The Toon Roos Quartet, The Benjamin Herman Trio, The Philip Catherine trio/quartet, The Jurai Stanik Trio and The Amsterdam Jazzquintet.
He recorded several CDs, with e.g. Benjamin Herman, Beets Brothers and Amsterdam Jazzquinter.