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Marc Mommaas

Marc Mommaas, tenor saxophonist and composer was born in Tegelen, Netherlands on Sept. 12th, 1969. He grew up in Amsterdam and since 1997 made NYC his home. His father Henk Mommaas, was a well-known painter/artist in the Netherlands and developed his career in Amsterdam. His mother Carolien Collette is a pianist, opera singer and educator. His grandfather on his mother’s side was a professional multi instrumentalist playing flute, viola da gamba, recorder, organ, spinet and harpsichord and taught at the conservatory of Maastricht. His grandmother on his mothers side was an opera singer and his great grandfather an organ player.

Although always surrounded by music and playing accordion and chromatic harmonica he first became an athlete (swimming). Training ten times a week built up his discipline and concentration while competing all over Europe gave him a taste of the joys of visiting different countries experiencing their cultures. At 16 years of age injuries in his shoulders stopped him in his track and he returned to music. He decided on tenor-saxophone.

His first hero was Ben Webster who he shook hands with at a Sunday afternoon concert when he was 3 years old by climbing on stage to say goodbye and to thank him for the music. His first teacher was Ronnie Rem (an alto saxophonist) who introduced him to Stan Getz, Bill Evans and Charlie Parker, followed by flutist and saxophonist Peter Guidi who became his mentor and introduced him to Coltrane, Rollins and Cannonball Adderley. He also had some lessons from Jasper Blom (saxophonist and educator, teaches on the conservatory of Amsterdam). Coming from a rebellious artist background the self-taught road appealed more to him than the common conservatory route. During Marc's musical study he managed to combine his musical development with a university education.

After finishing his education (Master-degree in Comm. Science/Business/Economics at the University of Amsterdam, 1995) he visited New York City to continue his musical career. There he studied with wellknown musicians David Liebman, Garry Dial, and Dick Oatts. He returned to Holland where he continued to work as a freelance musician. After receiving two grants (Stichting Podium Kunsten, Prins Bernard Cultuur Fonds/Anjer Fondsen, 1997) he returned to New York where he continued his musical development by participating in master classes and studying composition, harmony and piano with Garry Dial who became his main mentor. Not ready to return to the Netherlands Mommaas extended his stay by applying at the Manhattan School of Music. He received a full scholarship (2000) where he pursued his Master's in Jazz Performance and upon graduating was awarded the 'William H. Borden Award' (2002), given to one student out of the graduating class for outstanding achievement. He also participated in the Lake Placid Seminar (1997) and the Aspen Snowmass Jazz Sessions (2001) for which he received full scholarships.

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3
Album Review

Marc Mommaas / Nikolaj Hess: Ballads & Standards

Read "Ballads & Standards" reviewed by Budd Kopman


Many, if not most, of today's jazz players end up, sooner or later, becoming composers. Hence, on top of searching for and hopefully finding their personal means of expression when performing (composing in real-time), they now must also develop a personal compositional style which fits their aesthetic outlook, and which is accessible enough by other players to allow group expression. While there are relatively few completely sui generis “performing composers" (Satoko Fujii, Gebhard Ullmann and Carla Bley, to ...

191
Album Review

Marc Mommaas: Landmarc

Read "Landmarc" reviewed by Raul d'Gama Rose


If Marc Mommaas' tenor saxophone may be likened to the human voice, which is certainly the case on Landmarc, then he may be heard to “sing" several parts of an interconnected suite. Although each part has a specific English name, this belies the compound emotions that lie beneath each chart. However, a more rewarding way of listening would be to let the raw emotion of each melody invade the bare senses. A sudden recognition that there is interplay between emotion ...

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Album Review

Marc Mommaas: Landmarc

Read "Landmarc" reviewed by Thomas Conrad


It has been said that if you throw a quarter off the Empire State Building you are almost as likely to hit a tenor saxophonist as concrete. But in the Selmer-toting multitudes of Manhattan, Marc Mommaas has established a unique voice and vision. He was born into an artistic family in Amsterdam in 1969 and took a Masters degree in Business in the Netherlands. But he has lived in New York since 1997 and earned a second Masters from the ...

355
Album Review

Marc Mommaas: Landmarc

Read "Landmarc" reviewed by Dan McClenaghan


In an era of single tune downloads and shortened attention spans, works like Marc Mommaas' Landmarc could be on their way out, facing marketplace extinction. The Dutch-born, New York-based saxophonist has created a nine-song set with a continuity of concept and mood at a time when it's all too common for artists to mix lineups, moods and genres on their CDs, to display their versatility and/or appeal to the download customer.Mommaas is capable of fire, rage and raw ...

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Album Review

Marc Mommaas/Nikolaj Hess: Balance

Read "Balance" reviewed by Terrell Kent Holmes


Any kind of duet, whether jazz, classical or rock, presents its own particular set of challenges. It's paramount that the playrs involved come equipped with some kind of simpatico, or build it up quickly. Tenor player Marc Mommaas and pianist Nikolaj Hess tackle this task on Balance. “Funny Bones Jones begins slowly, then opens up into an up-tempo tableau of melodic and harmonic exploration. Hess uses Mommaas' shriek-punctuated flights of fancy as a springboard for his own ...

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Extended Analysis

Marc Mommaas: Balance

Read "Marc Mommaas: Balance" reviewed by Jeff Dayton-Johnson


Marc Mommaas with Nikolaj Hess Balance Sunnyside Records 2006

In classical music, people distinguish between “program music, which is “about something, and “absolute music, which is not. Someone has probably worked out what would be meant by a jazz version of “absolute music : I suspect it would sound a lot like Balance, the excellent new record by Dutch tenor saxophonist Marc Mommaas, in a series of duets with Danish pianist Nikolaj ...

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Profile

Marc Mommaas: On the Fringes of Jazz and Beyond

Read "Marc Mommaas: On the Fringes of Jazz and Beyond" reviewed by Jochem van Dijk


When Marc Mommaas graduated as a Communications Major from his hometown university in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, he rewarded himself with a trip to New York and took his tenor saxophone with him. He hung around for a few months, and knew that his life had changed forever: “While I was doing nice enough in Holland, I knew that at the time I was not ready and free enough to express myself. I had to change and make a move." He ...

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1

Event

New York Jazz Workshop Open House This Sunday, March 2nd

New York Jazz Workshop Open House This Sunday, March 2nd

Source: Marco Chelo

To celebrate its new location at the esteemed Michiko Studios at 149 W 46th St. within mere steps of Times Square, the New York Jazz Workshop School of Music (NYJW) will be hosting an open house on March 2nd from 3 to 5pm for everyone and anyone who’s curious about joining a thriving, passionate community of musicians in the world capital of Jazz! Expertly lead by renowned jazz educators and performers, the New York Jazz Workshop School of Music helps ...

Education

New York Jazz Workshop Set For Annual Summer Sessions

New York Jazz Workshop Set For Annual Summer Sessions

Source: Marco Chelo

NEW YORK, NY: More than beach and barbeques, for jazz musicians around the world summer is the time to take their playing to the next level in the world capital of jazz, as the New York Jazz Workshop School of Music (NYJW) will again offer focused four-day workshops, July 25 through August 18, with sessions for all ages. Expertly led by leading jazz educators and performers, the Summer Summit Series for adults includes workshops on improvisation, jazz guitar, singing, rhythm, ...

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Performance / Tour

Armen Donelian/Marc Mommaas Duo at University of the Streets on April 13th

Armen Donelian/Marc Mommaas Duo at University of the Streets on April 13th

Source: Armen Donelian


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Performance / Tour

Marc Mommaas and Nikolaj Hess Duo Performance at the Kitano on April 30

Marc Mommaas and Nikolaj Hess Duo Performance at the Kitano on April 30

Source: All About Jazz


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Performance / Tour

Marc Mommaas Global Motion Friday February 25th 9pm and 10:30pm at Cornelia Street Cafe

Marc Mommaas Global Motion Friday February 25th  9pm and 10:30pm at Cornelia Street Cafe

Source: All About Jazz

January 19, 2005 To: Listings/Critics/Features From: JAZZ PROMO SERVICES Press Contact: JIM EIGO, [email protected] Cornelia Street Cafe 29 Cornelia Street Greenwich Village, NY 10014 Tel: 212-989-9319 Fax: 212-243-4207 Web: corneliastreetcafe.com “a culinary as well as a cultural landmark" Mayoral Proclamation, City of New York1987 GLOBAL MOTION Friday February 25 - 2005 two sets: 9pm and 10:30pm. Cover: $8.00 “Tenor saxophonist Marc Mommaas's Sunnyside debut, Global Motion, marks the extension of the Jazz saxophone into the 21st century"...Eugene Holley “..the music ...

….just one more fact in Mommaas’ resume that builds to the conclusion that he is one of the current generation’s leading musicians ~By Bill Donaldson (JazzImprov 2006)

Global Motion is always in stylistic motion, spanning bop, ECM-esque soundscapes and free-form chamber dreams.
 ~By Ed Enright (Downbeat 2004)

Ofcourse, improv versus composition isn't a battle to be won or lost. Sometimes the two thrive as equals. Witness tenor saxophonist 'Marc Mommaas' Global Motion (Sunnyside), a finley crafted and uplifting example of a progressive-but-not-precisely-avant-garde jazz aesthetic. Mommaas is a gifted tenor saxophonist, ... and a writer of intricate and pleasingly unpredictable tunes. On "3458" and "African FBI," Mommaas seems to delight in subverting convention, especially in regard to time. Such metrically complex tunes are only as good as the band wraps its chops around them. Mommaas' crew ... does the material justice, interpretating its quirks with grace... The music has its own nearly classical beauty. ~By Chris Kelsey (JazzTimes 2004)

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Primary Instrument

Saxophone, tenor

Location

New York City

Willing to teach

Intermediate to advanced

Credentials/Background

For private lessons or lessons online please visit: http://www.mommaas.com/Teaching.html Founder of: Hudson Jazzworks http://www.hudsonjazzworks.org New York Jazz Workshop http://www.newyorkjazzworkshop.com

Clinic/Workshop Information

20+ private students in US and Overseas. 2009 Artistic director Hudson Jazz Works (ongoing) 2009 Masterclass Conservatory Madrid 2009 Annual ‘Hudson Jazz Workshop’ including David Liebman and Armen Donelian, NY 2009 Rhythmic Masterclass with Tony Moreno, New York Jazz Workshop, NY 2008 Annual ‘Hudson Jazz Workshop’ Duo Workshop including Armen Donelian, NY 2008 Master class / The Washington University of St

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Photos

Music

Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson

Ballads & Standards

Sunnyside Records
2016

buy

Landmarc

Sunnyside Records
2010

buy

Balance

Sunnyside Records
2006

buy

Marc Mommaas: Balance

Sunnyside Records
2006

buy

Global Motion

Sunnyside Records
2003

buy

Videos

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