I saw Femke probably for the first time in around 1998 when she performed with the powerful all-female band Too Hot Too Handle (THTH). I think I also jammed with her at some Amsterdam groove sessions like at Korte Golf or Naar Boven (later Ministry). During 2000-2005 we played sometimes together with THTH which has a saxophone player; Jolanda, the sister of band leader and drummer Isabella Proszkowski. When Jolanda was busy I replaced her. Then, in 2005, I just had graduated from my music studies at UdK Berlin, Femke introduced me to Ivo Niehe, a famous Dutch tv-host and interviewer who wanted to do something else after decades of doing his tv-show. He auditioned a band and took us on tour for one season. I got to play alto and soprano sax, flute and electric bass and took my first serious steps into becoming a professional musician.
Out of this band came another band, Quatra, consisting of Femke, violin player Julia Philippens, me, and occasionally others. Femke and I also have been playing also with various dj’s like DJ Maestro, DJ Rose, DJ Eno-C etc.
Somehow we never recorded something together, so it was time! She’s not only a great performer but also a lovely person and dear colleague. Femke during the recordings of Saxify at Wedgeview Studios showing drummer Jamal Thomas and his wife Nadine some of her instruments.
More about Femke Krone “Renowned Percussionist Femke Krone, performed with dozens of artists in her professional career. A career that started early… Femke, daughter of a Latvian ballet dancer and Dutch sports teacher with a passion for jazz music, received her first drum set at age 4. At high school, the drum seat was already taken, and Femke found herself checking out all kinds of percussion instruments. Soon she fell in love with the congas and started to explore the world of percussion & sounds, enjoying the freedom to sing, move her body and dance along to the beats she was part of. She started playing with all kinds of musicians, exploring a wide variety of musical styles. Her talents did not go unnoticed for long and she was hired by major Dutch star René Froger for her first professional tour. Many tours, recordings, TV and Radio sessions, with many different artists followed. Since some years now, Femke got involved in educating and motivating people to make music and enjoy life, by giving percussion workshops, involving voice and movement. She has created different programs for different ages and purposes.She has worked with groups of children and teenagers as well as groups of medical doctors, managers and others. Femke loves the stage and spotlight, she loves the intimacy of the recording studio, and she loves to teach and motivate people. You can tell from her smile, you can tell from her playing: She has a real passion for her profession!” Femke Krone plays Remo, Istanbul Agop and Roland, she uses QSticks and Stagg Cases.
This is the title track called Dark Horse. Just as in the album version it features sax and piano solos. It's a pretty wild performance, matching today's start of the Chinese New Year: THE YEAR OF THE FIRE HORSE!Live at Bimhuis, we added a drum solo. Afterwards, I decided to seperate it from the song and post it as an extra video below. Why not in one video?Because the video would become very very long and experience shows that people will not stick around for longer that 6-7 minutes. Yoràn's free drum solo is actually really great and in this seperate video, the true drum lovers can watch and learn from his drum story telling. Sometimes people ask me; What are drummers doing in their solos? To give you an idea of what Yoràn is doing in his solo: He starts with a pattern, an idea. He keeps the pattern going and plays variations over it. Then he combines it with soloing over it with call and reponse phrases and slides in new patterns. Technically it's interesting because he demonstrates a lot of independence and speed, as well as dynamics and sound colours, while telling a story, which means in musical context that the solo has certain elements which can be recognized by the (trained) listener. Many people in the Western part of the world miss the melodic and harmonic context during a free drum solo. It's fair to say a free drum solo without any accompaniment is like an abstract painting. Within the given context you can hear and see what you can manage, depending on your own frame of reference and expectations. In the end, it's about: does it resonate with you? Because both, the painting and the free drum solo, they lack a clear subject (no lyrics, no recognizable image), both forms are highly subjective and open to the interpretation of the audience. They function as a conversation between the artist's feeling and the viewer's/listener's perception.But you also can listen to it with a pure analytical drum ear and try to follow the patterns and phrases. As a musician and human I (try to) do both :-) Enjoy!More info:Susanne Alt: sax, Matthijs Geerts and Ike van Bergen: keys, Thomas Pol: bass, Yoràn Vroom: drums, Helene Jank: percussion Performed at 16th of January 2026 at Bimhuis, Amsterdam, Recorded by Onno Prillwitz Filmed by Robert Glass and Albert Nooij. - Percussion: “Wednesday Funk”, “You and me”, “Sugar Sweet”, “Tudo Bem”, “Elixir”I saw Femke probably for the first time in around 1998 when she performed with the powerful all-female band Too Hot Too Handle (THTH). I think I also jammed with her at some Amsterdam groove sessions like at Korte Golf or Naar Boven (later Ministry). During 2000-2005 we played sometimes together with THTH which has a saxophone player; Jolanda, the sister of band leader and drummer Isabella Proszkowski. When Jolanda was busy I replaced her.Then, in 2005, I just had graduated from my music studies at UdK Berlin, Femke introduced me to Ivo Niehe, a famous Dutch tv-host and interviewer who wanted to do something else after decades of doing his tv-show. He auditioned a band and took us on tour for one season. I got to play alto and soprano sax, flute and electric bass and took my first serious steps into becoming a professional musician.Out of this band came another band, Quatra, consisting of Femke, violin player Julia Philippens, me, and occasionally others.Femke and I also have been playing also with various dj’s like DJ Maestro, DJ Rose, DJ Eno-C etc.Somehow we never recorded something together, so it was time! She’s not only a great performer but also a lovely person and dear colleague.Femke during the recordings of Saxify at Wedgeview Studios showing drummer Jamal Thomas and his wife Nadine some of her instruments.More about Femke Krone“Renowned Percussionist Femke Krone, performed with dozens of artists in her professional career. A career that started early…Femke, daughter of a Latvian ballet dancer and Dutch sports teacher with a passion for jazz music, received her first drum set at age 4. At high school, the drum seat was already taken, and Femke found herself checking out all kinds of percussion instruments. Soon she fell in love with the congas and started to explore the world of percussion & sounds, enjoying the freedom to sing, move her body and dance along to the beats she was part of. She started playing with all kinds of musicians, exploring a wide variety of musical styles. Her talents did not go unnoticed for long and she was hired by major Dutch star René Froger for her first professional tour. Many tours, recordings, TV and Radio sessions, with many different artists followed. Since some years now, Femke got involved in educating and motivating people to make music and enjoy life, by giving percussion workshops, involving voice and movement. She has created different programs for different ages and purposes.She has worked with groups of children and teenagers as well as groups of medical doctors, managers and others.Femke loves the stage and spotlight, she loves the intimacy of the recording studio, and she loves to teach and motivate people.You can tell from her smile, you can tell from her playing:She has a real passion for her profession!”Femke Krone plays Remo, Istanbul Agop and Roland, she uses QSticks and Stagg Cases.
