Hans Bennick
b. 17 April 1942, Zaandam, Netherlands. Bennink is an intense, energetic percussionist with a strong streak of anarchic, deadpan mockery that seems to be common among Dutch jazz musicians. He tends not to confine his playing to the kit, frequently venturing away from the stool to play on the floor, walls or anything else within reach that he considers will make the sound he wants: the personnel details on the sleeve of OUTSPAN NO 2 lists him as using ‘dr, perc, everything, anything’ and those of SCHWARDZWALDFAHRT, recorded in the open air, credit him with playing ‘wood, trees, sand, land, water, air’. He is notoriously hard on sticks, habitually breaking several per gig, often to the peril of members of the audience. While he is primarily associated with the European free improvisation scene he has worked with a wide variety of players, including Ben Webster, Dexter Gordon, Don Byas and Johnny Griffin from the jazz mainstream, musicians like Sonny Rollins and Lee Konitzwho have at least flirted with the avant garde, as well as free players such as Derek Bailey, Evan Parker and Peter Brötzmann. He also played with Eric Dolphy on one of the saxophonists final recordings ( LAST DATE, 1964). In the late '80s he toured with Steve Lacy and his longtime associate Misha Mengelberg as part of The Monk Project, and for many years he has been involved with the Instant Composers Pool, which he founded in 1967 with Mengelberg and Willem Breuker. His favourite drummers include Chick Webb, Big Sid Catlett, Jo Jones and Philly Joe Jones. Bennink also learned from his father, who was in a radio orchestra and did many commercial engagements in bands accompanying dancers and singers. Han's first instrument was clarinet, and he will still sometimes break off from drumming in mid-gig to play a tune on it, or on banjo, viola or saxophone. He has appeared on many records, mostly for musician-run labels such as FMP, ICP and Incus, and has recently been featured with Andy Sheppard's SOFT ON THE INSIDE big band.