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Mark Haanstra

Mark Haanstra is a versatile bass player based in the Netherlands. He started playing classical piano at an early age but switched to bass in his teens after hearing the music of James Brown. Soon after he started his studies at the Conservatory of Amsterdam where he graduated cum laude in 1997.

His recognizable sound, groove and flexibility make him a much sought after musician by artists, ensembles and orchestras in many genres.

Last 10 years Mark recorded and played in over 30 countries with artists such as Oene van Geel, Yuri Honing, Simon Phillips, Terry Bozzio, Napoleon Murphy Brock, Theo Loevendie, Jam de la Crème, Windkracht 7, Ellen ten Damme, Tini Thomsen Max Sax (feat. Nigel Hitchcock) and the Barnicle Bill Trio (featuring saxophonist Miguel Martinez and drum legend John Engels).

Mark played with major classical ensembles and orchestras including Concertgebouw Orkest, MDR Sinfonieorchester, Asko Schoenberg, Nieuw Ensemble and many more. Besides this he is a soloist in Steve Mackey’s Grammy Award-winning work Dreamhouse, which has been performed and recorded by several renowned orchestras such as the BBC and New York Philharmonic.

Mark has been teaching at the Prince Claus Conservatoire in Groningen since 2004.

Awards

Mark won several prizes, including the Dutch Jazz Competition with the Nemesis Quartet (1994), Geel (1998) and Agog (2002).

Yuri Honing: North Sea Jazz Legendary Concerts

by Ian Patterson
January 22, 2024

It's fitting that saxophonist, composer and quiet visionary Yuri Honing should be acknowledged as one of the pivotal voices in the history of the Netherland's world-renowned North Sea Jazz festival, described in 1990 by Jazz Times as “the best jazz festival in the world." Honing's first appearance at the NSJF's was in 1995, where he performed with pianist {Michiel Bortslap}}'s sextet. Since then, he has played all but three of the last 18 editions, reflecting his status alongside pianist Misha ...

His latest release Shapes of Time with viola player Oene van Geel in 2018 got rave reviews from the Dutch press:

Casual and at the same time deeply haunting Mischa Andriessen, Trouw ****

“Qualities and expierences beautifully unite” Gijsbert Kamer, Volkskrant ****

"Shapes of Time transcends the earthly and lets beauty be a real mystery." Peter de Bruyn, Haarlems Dagblad

In these impressionistic soundscapes, the musicians try to find tension in the smallest possible places. (...) but it is this silence - the deliberate pace of the music - that really impels the fantasy. Amanda Kuyper, NRC Handelsblad ****