One of my favourite albums of all times, Voodoo (Wikipedia). I remember going to the record store in January of the year 2000, when it was just released. I only listened for about 30 seconds in total in the store and I knew I had to buy it and rush home to listen to it.
It didn't leave my cd player until the summer. It really shook me up. Or maybe I was just in a post-adolescent phase where everything was heavy - probably.... but I was obsessed with this album.
To me, it's transcendent music. Sounds and arrangements which go further than just notes. It sounds mysterious and magic. Sometimes minimalistic, always organic, as if everything was played effortlessly and super laidback... To many women he was sex symbol only, and maybe it was the only way to market him properly and get the music out. At the same time it distracted from his musical geniality and artistry but it created a much bigger audience with all the female attention than if it was marketed as a funk/jazz album. In the end, the music won, and I am happy for him that he's awarded with many Grammys and still continuing to create great music, even if it takes a while... Many rhythm sections were brought up with this particular album, trying to play live what D'Angelo and his band had done on this album. Shifting the beats, playing with the "time". Generations of singers have been influenced by his singing and songs, I know a few who are still stuck on D'Angelo only.. and it's hard not to. And I am always getting mad of the teacher-kind-of -persons who talk about D'Angelo's poor lyrics. First of all, he's a musician and producer, not a lyric writer. He needs lyrics to communicate the music to the majority of people who only react to music if it has vocals and lyrics in it.. To me, Voodoo is about the rhythm, chords, feel, sounds... and there are lyrics as well..
Before we start with all adventures around the new album DARK HORSE, let's stand still for a second and look back to the events of 2025...For me it was a busy and buzzing year with lots of different & exciting stuff going on and more that I could wish for. I am truly grateful and humbled. Thank you, dear people and agencies who continue to want to work with me, thank you, dear concert audiences, music lovers, dear friends&family, new acquaintances, and also extra thanks to my own body who lets me do all this! I decided to put a reel together with some of the activities on stage to give you an impression. If your activity together with me is not there, it doesn't mean I didn't like it but maybe there was no video evidence. There were even more off stage activities, therefore multiple shoutouts to: ArtEZ in Arnhem where I am teaching with a lot of joy, and these organisations/boards I am involved with and who contribute to our arts/music/jazz eco system: De Creatieve Coalitie, Bimpro.nl, VCTN, Kunstenbond Platformacct, Concertzender, BumaStemra, Stichting Brein. I wish you a happy and healthy new year and hope to see you again soon! P.s. Let's meet on 16th of January at Bimhuis! We will play the premiere of my new album DARK HORSE and there are still some tickets left. - One of my favourite albums of all times, Voodoo (Wikipedia). I remember going to the record store in January of the year 2000, when it was just released. I only listened for about 30 seconds in total in the store and I knew I had to buy it and rush home to listen to it. It didn't leave my cd player until the summer. It really shook me up. Or maybe I was just in a post-adolescent phase where everything was heavy - probably.... but I was obsessed with this album.To me, it's transcendent music. Sounds and arrangements which go further than just notes. It sounds mysterious and magic. Sometimes minimalistic, always organic, as if everything was played effortlessly and super laidback...To many women he was sex symbol only, and maybe it was the only way to market him properly and get the music out. At the same time it distracted from his musical geniality and artistry but it created a much bigger audience with all the female attention than if it was marketed as a funk/jazz album.In the end, the music won, and I am happy for him that he's awarded with many Grammys and still continuing to create great music, even if it takes a while... Many rhythm sections were brought up with this particular album, trying to play live what D'Angelo and his band had done on this album. Shifting the beats, playing with the time. Generations of singers have been influenced by his singing and songs, I know a few who are still stuck on D'Angelo only.. and it's hard not to. And I am always getting mad of the teacher-kind-of -persons who talk about D'Angelo's poor lyrics. First of all, he's a musician and producer, not a lyric writer. He needs lyrics to communicate the music to the majority of people who only react to music if it has vocals and lyrics in it.. To me, Voodoo is about the rhythm, chords, feel, sounds... and there are lyrics as well..
