Eric Ineke 75: Swinging, Boppin' and Burnin'

Drummer Eric Ineke is a swinging jazz giant from the Netherlands who has played and recorded with a lot of serious American cats. The list includes guitarists Jimmy Raney and his son, Doug Raney; Pepper Adams; Rob McConnell; Ben Webster, Maynard Ferguson, Dizzy Gillespie, Dexter Gordon, Lucky Thompson, Hank Mobley, George Coleman, Al Cohn, Barry Harris, Grant Stewart, Eric Alexander and Phil Woods, to name a handful. If you want the full list, go here.

In other words, if a major jazz player gigged in Holland from 1968 forward, the gentleman laying down the beat on the bandstand was likely Eric. He also has played with every Dutch jazz giant you can think of, including Ferdinand Povel, Pim Jacobs, Ruud Jacobs, Wim Overgaauw, Rita Reys and Piet Noordijk. The list is much longer, obviously.

Eric this year turned 75, and in the jazz world, such birthdays tend to beg for an album. So Eric released Eric Ineke 75: Swinging, Boppin' and Burnin' (Daybreak). The album features Eric with a stellar lineup of talent, both American and Dutch. Recorded live between 1968 and 2007, the album swings like crazy, with Eric's drums front and center.

Here are the tracks and players:

• Hershey Bar—Eric with Jimmy Raney, Doug Raney, Ruud Brink and Jesper Lundgaar.
• I Thought About You—Eric with Etta Jones, Houston Person, Rein de Graaff and Koos Serierse.
• Ornithology—Eric with Pepper Adams, Rob McConnell, Piet Noordijk, Rein de Graaff and Koos Serierse.
• Easy Living—Eric with John Marshall, Rein de Graaff and Marius Beets.
• Thou Swell—Eric with Frans Elsen and Jacques Schols.
• Tangerine—Eric with Scott Hamilton, Rein de Graaff and Marius Beets.
• Eric's Blues—Eric with Maynard Ferguson, Wim Overgaauw, Ruud Jacobs and Pim Jacobs.
• The Theme—Eric with Ben Webster, Tete Montoliu and Rob Langereis.
• Jotosco—Eric with Rik Mol, Sjoerd Dijkhuizen, Rob van Bavel and Marius Beet.

The album is gorgeous, from start to finish. The jazz workmanship, sidemen and playing are first rate. I should add that Eric is a great guy, a rare combination of superior talent and and gregarious personality.

JazzWax clips: Here's Stan Getz's Hershey Bar...



Here's Charlie Parker's Ornithology...



Here's Thou Swell...



And here's Eric in action, with Eric Ineke & the Frans Elsen Factor (for more on Frans Elsen, see my earlier post here)...