TONY OVERWATER is one of the most notable Dutch bass players. He is a versatile musician, composer, soloist, band leader and supervisor in the Netherlands and far beyond. He graduated with honors from the Royal Conservatory in The Hague. He won the VPRO / Boy Edgar Prize, the Podium Prize, and an Edison. He worked with extraordinary musicians, including Karin Hammar, Yuri Honing, Pat Metheny, David Murray, Paolo Fresu, Eric Vloeimans and many others. Overwater is also known as an expert organizer. During his time at the conservatory, he founded the Jazz in Motion Foundation and the accompanying record label. | DIFFERENT FORMATIONS Overwater shares his passion for jazz, Arabic music and baroque music with the other members of the Rembrandt Frerichs Trio. With this trio, he began playing the violone; a 6-string bass instrument from the Baroque era, predecessor of the double bass. Overwater has been playing with the trio Jungle Boldie for over twenty years, with Maarten Ornstein on reeds and drummer Wim Kegel. This close formation formed the basis for a number of original projects, such as Far East Revisited with the Calefax Reed Quintet and the CD ‘OP’ with Ack van Rooyen and Ernst Reijseger, which received an Edison. Inspired by working with Lebanese singer Rima Khcheich, Tony Overwater developed a new style of playing on the double bass, incorporating the techniques and scales of Arabic music into a unique style. Working with various other bands and musicians, they form a much sought after attraction at festivals in the Middle East and Europe. Music for children has always had a special place in the heart of Overwater. He sees it as his mission to bring jazz and acoustic music of quality to the attention of kids. After the project Kikker Swingt! (Frog Swings!) with Max Velthuijs, he developed various other music shows together with singer-songwriter Lotte van Dijck. | PROJECT ORGANIZATION AND DOCUMENTARY MUSIC Being an architect’s son, Tony Overwater has a fascination for the visual aspects of music. In addition to writing music for various films, documentaries and dance shows, he and Joshua Samson initiated the ‘Guarder of the Key’ Project. A location-based concert, taking place on a set day of the month. Each time the performance is held at a different, secret, location and always with a different guest. The interaction between architecture, environment, music, musicians and the audience makes this special small-scale project a unique experience. Overwater recorded the music for the documentary Om de Oude Wereldzee about Abraham Kuyper, combining his expertise and affinity with Arabic music and classical European music.

Angelo Verploegen (Oss, NL,1961) studied Musicology at the Amsterdam University and trumpet at the Jazz Department of the Amsterdam Sweelinck Conservatory. Angelo is one of the leading Dutch trumpet players around nowadays. His focused yet velvety tone on both trumpet and flugelhorn and his sensitive approach make Angelo a beloved artist. Angelo is active on the scene with groups such as Toïs, The Houdini's and Verploegen, Verhoeff & Van der Westen and he was involved in projects with Bik Bent Braam, Amsterdam Sinfonietta and Bob Brookmeyer's New Art Orchestra. He toured Europe, the USA, Canada and Australia, did co-productions with string orchestra Nieuw Sinfonietta Amsterdam (Richard Dufallo, Wayne Marshall), Schönberg Ensemble (John Adams), Jazz Orchestra of the Concertgebouw. Produced most of the recordings of The Houdini’s and furthermore internationally released CDs of many vocalists and instrumentalists. Teaches trumpet at the Jazz department of the School of the Arts Utrecht (HKU) and the Jazz & Pop Department of the School of Music Arnhem (ArtEZ). Since 2007 Artistic Director of the Jazz Orchestra of the Concertgebouw.

Meet Maarten Ornstein. He plays reeds, and is a composer.
Of today’s music. This music. In his own words: “This is what I do.” Ornstein is known for his work as an improvisor. After all, lots of roles fit this Dutchman who as a soloist joined forces with Audible Lifestream, SfeQ, The Schönberg Ensemble, The Houdini’s, The Ebony Band, various ensembles led by Tony Overwater, and the Martin Fondse Oktemble. He is also composer and arranger for The New Cool Collective Big Band and some of the aforementioned groups. Previously, he recorded with most of them all and many others. As an instrumentalist Ornstein integrates lyrical fluidity and imagination with maximum control on his reed instruments - mostly clarinet, bass clarinet and tarogato (a sort of wooden soprano saxophone of Romanian and Hungarian origin). Both as a player and composer/ arranger he is in command of his notes, and, while he’s on them, controls your state of mind too. Therefore Turtle Records is very proud to present Ornstein’s first. His first solo recording and his first recorded composed contemporary music that is. “I just wrote down what I like”, he states. Ornstein likes the combined sound of bassoon, various clarinets and the nowadays very rare C melody saxophones, sometimes united with percussion and the human voice. Do not call it classical, neo classical, jazz, worldmusic or worse: modern music. With his W.A.R.P. Ensemble Ornstein plays music that is all written down, yet very alive, and integrates various style elements of the here and now. It’s hip, and it’s serious. It’s of today, and it’s timeless. It challenges the listener, and it is a pure joy to listen to.

Maarten van der Grinten (Geleen,NL, 1963) started out playing drums at the age of 9 and took up the guitar three years later. From 1982 until 1987, he studied guitar at the prestigious Hilversum Conservatory with Willem 'Wim' Overgaauw and graduated with the highest honors. In 1987, he was awarded the Loosdrecht Festival Promotion Prize and in '88, he was given a scholarship to continue his studies for one year in New York at the Manhattan School of Music. Whilst there, he started to compose more seriously. He's played and recorded with many Dutch jazz musicians including Wim Overgaauw, Ack van Rooyen and John Engels and visiting players such as Clark Terry and Toots Thielemans along with a number of large ensembles including the WDR-Bigband, The Metropole Orchestra, the Willem Breuker Kollektief and the Jazz Orchestra of the Concertgebouw .
Maarten is currently co-leading four bands: Dig d'Diz, the Van der Grinten - Herman Quartet, the duo with guitarist Jesse van Ruller and the Brazilan music group Dirindi. He is currently teacher and chairman of the guitar section of the jazz faculty at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam, formerly the Hilversum Conservatory.