Bass player and vocalist Henk de Laat studied with honours at the Rotterdam Conservatory where he graduated as a master in jazz and contemporary music in 1987. He completed his classical bass studies in 1988. Then he studied vocals with Deborah Brown and Ge Titulaer for two years. Later he developed his voice with the aid of Henry Chef d’Horge from Paris who taught him a natural and organic way of singing. He is currently in a vocal study program with Rhiannon, teacher at the Berklee College of Music, Boston. In 1980 Henk started his musical career with a band called X-tra, playing ska- music. Later on he joined a group called Casino, accompanying Dutch and artists from abroad. A versatile accompanist he played with top-ranked vocalists such as Shirley Bassey, Deborah Brown, Marjorie Barnes, Dee Daniels, Jahida Wehbe and with exquisite jazz instrumentalists as Bob Minzer and Bob Malach. For two years he toured with Denise Jannah with whom he played among others at the North Sea Jazz Festival in The Hague. He played with “La Corda”, a unique trio with guitarplayers Peter Mingaars and Ben Boogaard. In 1996 his first cd „But Beautiful“ was released. It contains jazz standards and bossa nova tunes all for which he got a warm recommendation by harmonica legend Toots Thielemans. He composed for several international theater companies and played with Mike Zinzen, Walpurgis, Pieter Embrechts, Jokke Schreurs, Carlos Diaz, Sabien Tiels, the Euro Trio featuring Dirk Van der Linden and Dirk Raufeisen, and „Gezien, Gezegd en Gezongen“ featuring Yvonne Walter, Antje de Boeck and Els Dottermans and the Frits Bayens Big Band (watch movie) He also participated in a major theater production from HET PALEIS called „Water, Lucht, Aarde en Vuur“ and “Nachtmuziek” with trumpet player Sam Vloemans. Nowadays he is active in a variety of groups as the Osama Abdulrasol duo, his own group Enrique Tarde, de Laat & Verbiest, and de Laat & Schreurs. Henk performs in a most personal and spontaneous way and uses both the subtle expressive and unique qualities of the human voice. In other words, he plays the way he sings and sings the way he plays. During many journeys around the globe Henk has lost his musical heart in Brasil, the culture of which has influenced his music in a remarkable way. His new CD „Breaking through the shadows“ is a fine collection of Brazilian inspired songs that were recorded in Belgium, The Netherlands, Germany, and Italy.
A SUPERB ARTIST
by João da Penha, Theresopolis Brasil
If you 're looking for a romantic and sensual voice, your search has ended. Henk
de Laat has such a voice. Who's Henk de Laat? He is simply one of the most
dazzling young vocalists in the European jazz scene. And one of the best bass
players too. Henk de Laat is a jazz & bossa nova artist who combines a
distinctive style and the right technical equipment to achieve a level of musical
imagination which is rarely found in the work of a single artist. As a vocalist
with a voice reminiscent of Chet Baker, but with an indisputable sense of
musical personality, DeLaat combines the lyrical style of Nat King Cole with a
contemporary touch. Some vocalists merely sing the lyrics of a song. Henk de
Laat doesn't . He delivers a song with heartfelt emotion. When he sings, the
heart of listener seems to beat just that little faster. He captures all the nuances
of the songs. He knows how to interpret great lyrics.
And what about the bass player Henk de Laat? What can I say? First of all, he is a
superb bass player, with an innate sense of timing, wit and energy. I would
describe his fresh sound as exciting. He plays in the bossa nova style (and other
Brazilian styles) with influences of jazz. De Laat loves Brazilian music. João Bosco
and Ivan Lins are his favorite Brazilian composers.
Henk's debut CD, "But Beautiful", was released in 1996. Anyone who loves good
music can leave this CD in the player and listen to it over and over again. The
songs include such classics of jazz and bossa nova as "Beautiful love" (a moving
interpretation; Henk has a lovely way of playing romantic songs) and "O Pato"
(sung in Portuguese; a fabulous swing!). I fell in love with this album. The more
listen to it, the more delighted I am.
Read more
A SUPERB ARTIST
by João da Penha, Theresopolis Brasil
If you 're looking for a romantic and sensual voice, your search has ended. Henk
de Laat has such a voice. Who's Henk de Laat? He is simply one of the most
dazzling young vocalists in the European jazz scene. And one of the best bass
players too. Henk de Laat is a jazz & bossa nova artist who combines a
distinctive style and the right technical equipment to achieve a level of musical
imagination which is rarely found in the work of a single artist. As a vocalist
with a voice reminiscent of Chet Baker, but with an indisputable sense of
musical personality, DeLaat combines the lyrical style of Nat King Cole with a
contemporary touch. Some vocalists merely sing the lyrics of a song. Henk de
Laat doesn't . He delivers a song with heartfelt emotion. When he sings, the
heart of listener seems to beat just that little faster. He captures all the nuances
of the songs. He knows how to interpret great lyrics.
And what about the bass player Henk de Laat? What can I say? First of all, he is a
superb bass player, with an innate sense of timing, wit and energy. I would
describe his fresh sound as exciting. He plays in the bossa nova style (and other
Brazilian styles) with influences of jazz. De Laat loves Brazilian music. João Bosco
and Ivan Lins are his favorite Brazilian composers.
Henk's debut CD, "But Beautiful", was released in 1996. Anyone who loves good
music can leave this CD in the player and listen to it over and over again. The
songs include such classics of jazz and bossa nova as "Beautiful love" (a moving
interpretation; Henk has a lovely way of playing romantic songs) and "O Pato"
(sung in Portuguese; a fabulous swing!). I fell in love with this album. The more
listen to it, the more delighted I am.
Henk's second CD, "Breaking Through the Shadows", was released in 2005.
Almost all the songs were composed by Henk de Laat with partners, except
"Paciência" (by Lenine) and "Cravo e Canela" (by Milton Nascimento). Once again
Henk delivers to the listeners a gift for the lovers of good music.Once again he
proves that is natural whether playing, singing or both. Henk and his band. His
band consists of Peter Hermesdorf (saxophones), Dirk Schreurs (piano,
keyboards), Frank Peeters (electric guitar) and Ron van Stratum (percussion).
His musicians provide great support and their instrumental solos are simply
superb. "Breaking Through the Shadows" is a beautiful and brilliant CD that
marks yet another step for this amazing artist and his band.
Henk de Laat is very well on his way to becoming one of the most accomplished
vocalists & bass players in the modern music scene.
João da Penha is a Brazilian journalist and music critic,
philosophy scholar, author of "O que é Existencialismo", "Períodos Filosóficos",
"Wittgenstein" and other books, and a contributor to various Brazilian cultural
publications. He is currently completing a book on the art of vocal jazz.
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Primary Instrument
Bass, acoustic
Willing to teach
Advanced only
