While I am writing this we are busy with the first requests for the season of 2012, with already some nice gigs in Denmark on our calendar. There is still room enough for other nice opportunities, so if you are a booker or just a regular visitor of a jazzclub or festival don’t hesitate to contact us about possible dates!

We are going to enjoy the last months of 2011, looking back on a nice year, looking forward to the next season.

In May we went to Mallorca to play the Jazzfestival Mallorca in Cala D’or. We really enjoyed the lovely weather and the nice audience. It was our first time to Mallorca, if the weather there is always that nice we might consider moving there

After that we went to our ‘hometown’ Enkhuizen where we did two nice gigs at Jazzfestival Enkhuizen. The weather started off really great when we played the outside stage on Saturday. We were lucky the festival was planned inside on Sunday, because it really was pouring rain that day.

The weekend following Jazzfestival Enkhuizen it was time for our only trip to the UK this year: Abersoch Jazzfestival! The weather has always been great when we’re playing there. This year we had some doubts about the weather, with a lot of rain on our way to Wales. The closer we came to Abersoch however, the more sun we saw. We ended up playing a few nice gigs, enjoyed a few jam sessions!

Then came another festival, which we were looking forward to: Jazz Ascona, where we would play six gigs in a row. The organisation was superb, the weather great and the other bands were also a great pleasure to watch and listen to. We had a couple of nice gigs, made some new friends and also enjoyed some great jam sessions with various musicians.

The festival season is now over for us, we still have some nice gigs to do this year. Take a look at our gig list to see when we are playing.

Want to have us in your club/birthday/festival? Don’t hesitate to contact us!

Returning gigs and some new opportunities

It may feel like our real season would start with our first big festival, a first time appearance for us, in Mallorca. We have some other nice gigs first, to try out the new tunes in our set and to warm up. After Mallorca there’s ofcourse the Jazzfestival Enkhuizen, the town where the band once was created. After that we travel to Wales for our ninth year at the Abersoch Jazzfestival, where we will enjoy the music and the nice climate. When we get back to holland we barely have time to get used to the ‘not-so-warm’ Dutch climat. We will again travel to the south to play at the Ascona Jazzfestival.
These are only some of the really nice gigs we are doing this year, to have a complete list one could visit our Gig list.

The journey took us 12 long hours to get to Femo (you’ll probably understand how we felt after 12 hours in an Renault Traffic with 8 people). Fortunately Bram’s mum and dad were already at the Femo camping and his mum cooked us all a lovely pasta. With some more energy in our body’s we headed for the festival marque to watch TJ Johnson. It was a beautiful gig and a nice start up for the band to catch the Femo/Woodstock atmosphere.

The Friday started of with loads of rain, some coffee and bacon and eggs that were cooked by the bandmum (bram’s mum). We had to play outside that day but thanks to the rain they moved the concert inside the big marque on a little stage in the back. Our Danish friends from the Uz’ugh group were waiting first row while we were setting up the drums and piano. The gig started off slow but ended with a nice crowd and even some early dancers.

After the gig we enjoyed some pancakes which were this time baked by the bands girlfriends. In the evening we had the great pleasure to watch the Six City Stompers with Shannon Powel. Amazing to see a guy like Shannon rocking it away with his powerfull drums.

Saturday is traditionally the Citroen 2CV day. Bram’s dad has got an awesome red Citroen 2CV, which I hereby call “the duck”, with an open roof. Every year we plan the Saturday afternoon for a ride in the duck around the island. Surprisingly the sun came through the clouds and we were able to show Femo our beerbelly’s (yes Barry, you got one as well).

Again the bandmum cooked some food and we were ready for a great gig. The marque was pretty full at the beginning of our gig. We started of solid with “mack the knife”. The stage turned out te be really hot because of all the lights. After 45 minutes the tent was nicely packed and all of the guys moved backstage with a big smile. Just before getting on for the second half of the gig the organization told us to wait. The girl from the organization announced the band once again and then, by total surprise, told us that we won this years FEMO JAZZ PRICE!!!!!!!!!! We couldn’t believe our ears. After getting the Femo jazz medals we played one of the best sets in the bands history. With a feeling of euphoria we danced the night away to the tunes from Jazz Five that played after us.

What a great way to end a fantastic weekend at the Femo Jazzfestival.

 A week later we performed at the Keswick Jazzfestival. It was an honor to play with Greg Stafford from New Orleans. He really inspired all of us. Thanks Greg!

In the beginning of June we traditionally play the Abersoch Jazzfestival (this already was the 9^th year we went there). If you have never been to Abersoch then here’s a description of the fest: One big orgy of music, great weather, a lovely beach, wicked musicians and a lot of late night jam sessions. The jam sessions are held in the living room of one of the organizers of the festival named Jen. This year Jen had moved to a bigger house. Which meant a larger living room and more space for jamming people. Some of the jamming people were: Adrian Cox, TJ Johnson, James Evans, Jamie Lawrence, Bubu and Graham Hughes. Never heard ‘My blue heaven’ in a reggae version? Then you never been to the Abersoch jam sessions!

Last weekend was the band’s debut in a horse stable. We never would have thought that we’d make it to stage in a horse stable. The gig was in Senden, Germany. Quite a drive but the audience made it worth it.

Coming weekend we head towards Silkeborg in Denmark. It’s the second time for the Oriental to perform at the ‘Riverboat festival’ (as it is called). Last time we had the biggest audience the band had played for so far. See if we can beat that record this year.

If you have nothing to do, come to the ‘Riverboat festival’! Otherwise we hope to see you at some other place in the ‘gigging season’.

The CD is now available online for only € 10,-.
Click here to add this new CD to your jazz collection!

Album cover:

The following tracks are recorded on the new album:

1. At the Darktown Strutter’s Ball
2. A Tisket A Tasket
3. Autumn Leaves
4. I’m Walkin’
5. Fine and Mellow
6. Big Bad Handsome Man
7. Saratoga Shout
8. What A Difference A Day Made
9. Mardi Gras In New Orleans

Special guest: Gregg Stafford

A special guest was asked to play with us this festival. Gregg Stafford (from New Orleans) joined us on our Saturday night gig in a packed venue. It was really great to play with an experienced player with such an musical background. We hope to see him again in the near future to play some more with him.

To give an impression of the time we had a few photo’s of the band, Gregg Stafford and a beautiful picture taken just outside on of the venues we played. How can one not like such an inspiring view?

Next week we’ll play at Keswick Jazzfestival in the United Kingdom.

Some nice details about the new CD are that it features both our previous bassplayer Joppe and his replacement, Lauryan. It’s also the first CD with the nice voice of Kristel on it. As if these weren’t enough reasons for us to be happy about it we also believe there are some really good songs on it.

More news should be coming soon!