Saturday 3 May 2025, 20:00 CET – Behind the Dikes.
Harry Verbeke (1922-2004) was one of the greatest Dutch tenorists from the 1950s onwards. He was part of the quintet The Diamond Five, a top notch hard bop group. Their home base was the Amsterdam jazz club Sheherazade – for the initiated: the Zade – which was also owned by the members of the quintet. They accompanied many American soloists, including Stan Getz, Phil Woods and Cannonball Adderley. The quintet was also the core around which Boys Big Band was formed in 1960.
This is the first of two broadcasts about Harry Verbeke and is dedicated to the Diamond Five period, from 1958 to 1962. In the next broadcast we follow Verbeke in various other musical adventures.
In addition to Verbeke, the Diamond Five consisted of pianist Cees Slinger, trumpeter/valve trombonist Cees Smal, bassist Jacques Schols and drummer John Engels Jr. Engels is the only one who is still alive and musically active (May 2025).
Various sources mention trumpeter Cees Smal as the composer of Amsterdam Blues. That is strange. The piece is by the American bop pianist Duke Jordan, who played in Charlie Parker’s quintet in the late 1940s. The title is Jordu and is derived from his name. In the early 1950s, Jordu became a repertoire piece of the Max Roach/Clifford Brown Quintet.
The Diamond Five come up with a surprising arrangement here. The beautiful melody is exposed by bassist Jacqes Schols, who then takes the first solo.
Parlez moi de velours is one of the productions that the Diamond Five made as part of an advertising campaign. In this case for the curtain factory Velours Doré. The relaxed number is introduced by the spoken words: “Uw velours doré gordijnen.”
The Diamond Five also did similar productions for Ermi IJs and for the moped brand Puch. Curiosa.
Not every jazz bassist is gifted with a good stroke, but Jacques Schols is one such bassist with a perfect stroke. This can be heard in the ballad Ruined Girl, in which he provides a theme that lasts for several minutes and has a colourful and solid foundation.
The complete playlist can be found in the Guide.
Behind the Dikes – Hajé Nordbeck
