Dutch drummer Han Bennink (1942), Misha Mengelberg's trusted percussionist since 1963 and a co-founder of the Instant Composer's Pool in 1967,
help coin the language of European free improvisation through a number of
duo and trio recordings, notably:
New Acoustic Swing Duo (december 1967) with Willem Breuker,
Instant Composers Pool 002 (may 1968) with Mengelberg and alto saxophonist John Tchicai,
Instant Composers Pool 004 (july 1969) with guitarist Derek Bailey,
The Topography of the Lungs (july 1970) with Bailey and saxophonist Evan Parker.
The four-disc Topographie Parisienne (april 1981) documents a live performance by the same trio: two lengthy trios, five duos, and two solos by Evan Parker.
Bennink also anchored the trio of tenorist Peter Broetzmann and pianist Fred Van Hove on Balls (august 1970), Broetzmann/ van Hove/ Bennink (february 1973) Einheitsfrontlied (march 1973) and Tschus (september 1975),
and joined the Globe Unity Orchestra in 1970 and the Company in 1976.
His gargantuan solo albums were
Solo (1972), Nerve Beats (september 1973), on which he even used a rhythm machine,
Solo West/East (october 1978),
Tempo Comodo (september 1982).
Besides the countless duets with Misha Mengelberg, and his participation in the
ICP Orchestra,
Bennink also recorded extensively with other improvisers:
Han (march 1986) with Derek Bailey (containing a live 56-minute Melancholy Babes),
Directly to Pyjamas (1987) and Vol pour Sydney (january 1992) with Steve Beresford,
Spots (july 1988) with Cecil Taylor,
Olie en Water and Diepe Spoeren with Peter Kowald (both collecting performances from 1986 to 1989),
Boogie with the Hook with Eugene Chadbourne (performances from 1977 till 1996),
Eleven Ghosts (february 1994) with Myra Melford,
Azurety (april 1994) and Cheer Up (march 1995) with Ray Anderson and Christy Doran,
Serpentine (january 1996) with Dave Douglas,
the two "post improvisations" with Derek Bailey, When We're Smiling (june 1999) and Air Mail Special (1999),
The Grass Is Greener (march 2000) with Evan Parker,
Still Quite Popular After All Those Years (february 2004) with Peter Broetzmann,
etc.
In 1988 Benninck, saxophonist Michael Moore and cellist Ernst Reijseger formed Clusone 3 to perform jazz standards:
Clusone 3 (march 1990),
I am an Indian (september 1993),
Soft Lights and Sweet Music (november 1993),
Love Henry (november 1993),
Rara Avis (december 1997),
An Hour With (march 1998),
etc.
The Amplified Trio (recorded in 2006)
comprised Bennink, electric guitarist John Coxon and electronic musician Ashley Wales (i.e., Spring Heel Jack).
Han Bennink/Terrie Ex (october 2006) was a duet with guitarist Terrie Ex.
Ammu Quartett (february 2007) consists of Benninck, Mary Oliver on violin, Johanna Varner on cello, Christofer Varner on trombone.
The People I Like (2005) was a collaboration with the
Blueprint Project
(Jared Sims on alto and tenor saxophone, Eric Hofbauer on guitar, Tyson Rogers on piano).
Television (september 2001) is a collaboration with
guitarist Mark O'Leary.
BRO-C in Amherst 2006 (october 2006) documents eight duets between
Peter Broetzmann and Han Bennink.
Bennink led a trio with pianist Simon Toldman and clarinetist Joachim Badenhorst on Parken (2009) and
Bennink & Co (july 2012).
Han & Frode (march 2008) is a collaboration
with Frode Gjerstad (on alto saxophone and bass clarinet).
Calling Down The Flevo Spirit
(september 1978)
documents a
collaboration between
Han Bennink (on banjo, violin, clarinet, tenor saxophone, trombone,
drums) and
veteran Dutch pianist and clarinetist
Kees Hazevoet (on violin, accordion, clarinet, trumpet, piano
and percussion).
Let's Go
(november 2008)
was a trio with Brodie West (alto sax) and Terrie Ex ( guitar).
Two For Tow (may 2011) was a collaboration with pianist
Aki Takase, mostly composed by Takase.
Welcome Back (april 2015) featured duets by drummer Han Bennink and pianist Irene Schweizer .
The trio with Belgian reed player Joachim Badenhorst and Danish pianist Simon Toldam debuted with Parken (2009), followed by the live Bennink & Co (april 2011), and Adelante (november 2016).
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