Please, meet our horn section: The Special Request Horns! Guido Nijs, Louk Boudesteijn and yours truly. Eventually brought together by Guido Nijs to join Dutch band Beef’s on their Pinkpop performance in 2001, but we have been playing ever since and kept growing as a group. Many people have been asking us about our business plan, unique selling points or strategy, but we have none of that…
The secret IMHO: Three outspoken characteristic individuals with a jazz background and broad musical interest. All three of us are jazz-educated, internationally acclaimed and highly in demand soloists, all experienced bandleaders with writing skills. So not your average group of brass players. And last but not least: We love to be part of a band that appreciates our particular approach and sound, instead of nameless hired guns, and we have been enjoying to create music together for about 20 years.
We made this record in 2006 because we enjoyed the recording process with so many musical friends, and we found it appropriate to be associated with a certain sound and energy. That’s more valuable than an opinion. The recording was great fun, and so is playing together with these cats.
Looking back to the many musical highlights, (like cooperations with the Golden Earring, Candy Dulfer, Sheila E,, Tjeerd and Trijntje Oosterhuis, Ladies of Soul, Joe Jackson, Joe Bonamassa, Diana Ross, Lionel Richie, Bløf, Shirma Rousse, Racoon Beef, Caro Emerald, the many tv-shows. broadcasts, recordings, and many, many more…) We are currently playing with Di-rect and Marco Borsato, and recording for a wide range of artists and fellow musicians from our brand new recording studio Rottsound in Rotterdam. I feel thankful and proud that our playing style and musical vision resulted in of one of the most creative and in-demand horn-sections in Europe, while still forcing ourselves to keep on growing and remain curious. To be continued…