House of the Hardbop; with recordings by the recently passed away American tenor saxophonist and clarinettist John Ruocco.
On 2 and 3 February 1999, this remarkable musician made a recording in Studio 44 in Monster with bassist Jean-Louis Rassinfosse and drummer Felix Simtaine, two Belgian top musicians with whom he regularly performed in Belgium. The album was only released in 2007 on the Belgian AZ Label with the title A Ghost of A Chance.
In the second half of the 1990s, John Ruocco joined the Dutch Jazz Orchestra conducted by Jerry van Rooyen for the recording of an extensive Billy Strayhorn Project, first as a clarinet soloist and later, John Ruocco himself conducted this orchestra. He was a unique musical ‘wizard’ and a top soloist with international standing.
John Ruocco passed away on 21 May 2025 in The Hague.
Playlist:
Trio Ruocco, Simtaine, Rassinfosse with recordings from 1999 from the CD ‘A Ghost Of A Chance’ released with AZ Productions AZ 1013 and a recording from 1999 from the Dutch Jazz Orchestra conducted by Jerry van Rooyen from the CD ‘Something To Live For’ released on the Challenge Label CHR Challenge Jazz 70092
With John Ruocco, Felix Simtaine, Jean-Louis Rassinfosse and the Dutch Jazz Orhestra conducted by Jerry van Rooyen.
Foto Hreinn Gudlaugsson
