There are many ways to spend an evening, but neither of those compare to the night a few days ago. Evening – The city of Amsterdam is as dark as it is cold, thankfully I was wearing more layers than an onion. After a pleasantly warm cup of tea we set off for an equally pleasant (yet hardly as warm) walk through the alleys and streets of Amsterdam.
Tickets d'entrée
Many peaceful canals and bridges later we reached the lively center of Leidseplein, a single street further and we were within an arms reach away from Hans Dulfer, that evenings main performer. I politely nodded my head as we walked past him to enter the café. A warm welcome of jazz music and friendly faces accompanied us as we moved closer to the stage. The walls were covered by classic jazz posters and photos, reflecting a red glow all around the room. Right next to the stage were two empty tables, we took the one underneath John Coltrane’s photograph that stuck to the ceiling.
A few moments later an old man bumped into my seat – Hans Dulfer apologized to me as he put his saxophone on the table next to ours. Other musicians prepared their instruments on the stage – the pianist placed two thick phone-books on his seat and a keyboard on top of the piano. Slowly the place started to fill up, people varying from famous to Belgian took the few remaining seats over.
Men at Jazz
Music begins to play, it’s just as incredible as it is loud – we moved a few rows down to save our sense of hearing. The music only got better as time went by, saxophone solo’s faded into piano and back. From bass to drums, everyone played their part. A trumpeter joined the gang in a later set, by then I was already lost in time. Clearly the drummer was too as he had just broken another pair of his drum sticks, still managing to play on. These guys really made a show – they rocked at jazz.
The only thing more enchanting than the night we spent was the lady I got to spend it with.
J.B.
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