Tim Kliphuis and his musicians 25th. May 2007

To find a world-rated jazz musician playing in Wales is unusual. To find one playing in Narberth’s Queen’s Hall is remarkable!

That however is what happened last week. Dutch jazz violinist Tim Kliphuis stopped off for one night during a UK tour and entertained a select - and for my part surprised - audience to a virtuoso performance that would not have been out of place in New York’s Carnegie Hall. It was that good.

Despite having been involved in the jazz scene for fifty years now I hadn’t heard of Tim before Span Arts intelligently booked him. Knowing that Span don’t spend their limited their pennies unwisely I always try to support their efforts even if I don’t expect - or indeed sometimes find - their offerings to always be acceptable. This time however it was very different.

Kliphuis - a tall slightly shy Dutchman- accompanied tastefully by acoustic guitar and bass - put on a carefully chosen programme which allowed him to explore not only the full range of his gorgeously rich-toned instrument but also every subtle nuance of classic compositions like Django Reinhart’s composition Nuages. The man is clearly in a brilliant class his own and it’s easy to see why he has been dubbed the “successor to the late - great - Stephane Grappelli”. His improvisations seemed to have no limits - as I listened in awe I frequently thought that he had reached the end of an exploration but then he was off again exploring hitherto unexpected avenues and ideas. It was a delightful experience

It’s no wonder that when he joined Belgian gypsy jazz guitarist Fapy Lafertin in 1999 their co-operation resulted in three acclaimed CDs and tours in Europe and the UK.  Since that time Kliphuis has performed with such world-renowned jazzers as Les Paul, Bob Wilber, Herb Geller, Bucky Pizzarelli and Stochelo Rosenberg. He has played jazz festivals all over the world, including North Sea Jazz, La Villette (Paris), Edinburgh Jazz Festival, Djangofests in Seattle, Chicago and Philadelphia and clubs such as Ronnie Scott’s, Pizza Express (London) and Iridium Jazz Club (New York).

My thanks to Span Arts for giving us a rare evening with a modern day arts genius. May we hope that he will return one day soon?

Brian Harvey - copyright 2007

Top of Page | < Back to Reviews Index