Ode to Amsterdam: Mecca for Culture and for Jazz

by Tom Kando

 Amsterdam has a reputation. Ignorant people allude to the city’s cannabis cafés and its red light district with a smirk, reducing its entire identity to a haven for hippies and sleazy tourists in search of free pot and sex. And they generalize this to the whole Netherlands.

It is true that Holland has always been exceptionally progressive, open-minded and tolerant of free-thinking. It has long been in the forefront of decriminalization of drug addiction, sex work, euthanasia and gay marriage, it has always been a haven for persecuted religious minorities such as the Huguenots and the Puritans (who went to Holland before ending up in Massachusetts).

But the glib stereotype does not do justice either to the city or to the country. For one thing, it is a zoning thing. Many countries zone “sin” in such a manner. Paris has Pigalle, the US has Las Vegas, China has Macao. etc.


For another, Amsterdam is no more “liberal” than parts of Colorado, Oregon or San Francisco. And generalizing to the Netherlands as a whole utterly fails to do justice to that country’s true national character: Far from being an indolent and hedonistic culture, the Dutch have traditionally been the quintessential “innerworldly ascetics” described by Max Weber in The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism. This tough Lutheran and Calvinistic people, steeled by their never-ending struggle against the sea, has been imbued with a vigorous work ethic and a strong commercial spirit. The Netherlands were the cradle of Capitalism. Outside “sin city,” the Dutch are among the squarest people in the world.

Having set this straight, though, there is no doubt that Amsterdam has an incredibly vibrant culture of avant-garde experimentation and creativity.

I personally witnessed the blossoming of this culture, growing up there as a young man. Within a few years after World War Two, various youth movements began to sprout in the city. First there were the “nozems.” These were Elvis Presley-like, greasy-haired, pompadour-wearing, working-class youngsters who wore thick-soled shoes and congregated around the Nieuwendijk.

A few years later came the “Pleiners.” These were the first beatniks. They were more intellectual, had artistic ambitions, and took drugs. As their name indicates, they congregated around the city’s main square, the Leidse Plein.

Each decade brought its own youth movement. In the sixties, the "Provos" began to provocate, and in the   seventies arose the “Kabouters.” These groups were  more student-based political, anarchist movements.

In sum, Amsterdam has always been the stage for cultural, political, rebellious youth movements.

When I lived in the city, it was also a Mecca for many of the world’s jazz greats - overwhelmingly from the US, of course. The relationship between this phenomenon and the city’s libertarian atmosphere was symbiotic.

Several of the giants of American jazz spent much time and even settled in Amsterdam as expats. Why? For one thing, race relations were a hell of a lot better there than in the US. Many of these African-American musicians felt the weight of racism suddenly lift from their shoulders. In Amsterdam, they experienced for the first time what it felt like to be treated like - indeed to BE - a normal human being.

In addition, the drug scene was more accessible and less punishing. Thus, for both a positive and a dubious reason, people such as tenor saxophonists Coleman Hawkins, Lester Young and Ben Webster, and trumpeter Chet Baker lived in Amsterdam for considerable lengths of time. Ben Webster died there in 1973 and Chet Baker in 1988.

Most fabulous to me were the midnight jazz concerts at the Concertgebouw. Every month or so, one of the great concert halls of the world became the venue for a Saturday midnight concert by some of America’s great jazz groups.

Some of the groups I heard live at these events include Stan Kenton, who brought with him alto saxophonist Art Pepper, drummer Shelley Manne and flutist Bud Shank; other “West Coast” superstars such as baritone saxophonist Gerry Mulligan and his trumpeter Chet Baker; pianist Dave Brubeck’s quartet.

I remember debating with my friends whether or not these “West Coast” guys - most of them white - could really emulate the excellence of the East Coasters, most of them black, most of them more deeply rooted in the Charlie Parker be-bop tradition. We felt that the “coolness” of the West Coasters was inferior, too white. We were wrong. As it turned out, “cool” became just as great, and it transcended race. Lester Young and Miles Davis were cool, too.

At the Concertgebouw, I witnesses the entire ensemble Jazz at the Philharmonic, including the greatest singer in the world, Ella Fitzgerald, and the virtuoso pianist Oscar Peterson; the fabulous stomping Jazz Messengers, with Art Blakey, arguably the best drummer in the world, pianist Horace Silver, and trumpeter Lee Morgan, a seventeen year old child prodigy at the time. I also heard the unforgettable voice of Sarah Vaughan, the ageless Big Bill Broonzy’s guitar, trumpeters Dizzy Gillespie, Louis Armstrong and Miles Davis - the former a hard be-bop man, the second one classic New Orleans style, and Miles the coolest sound in the world, accompanied by the genius of John Coltrane’s tenor sax. I saw Max Roach, a drummer perhaps equal to Art Blakey, and Sonny Rollins, one of the all-time greatest tenor saxophonists; also the refined semi-classical sound of the Modern Jazz Quartet, with conservatory-trained pianist leader John Lewis and Milt Jackson, the greatest vibraphone player ever. I even heard the unparalleled Indian sitar player Ravi Shankar. There were many others.

My stepfather, Ed Van der Elsken, published a fine photo book which features many of these great jazz superstars as they performed at the Concertgebouw’s midnight concerts. Check it out. Jazz.

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The night concerts generally also featured some Dutch musicians, usually before the intermission. There were many excellent Dutch jazz players. They usually earned a living in nightclubs such as Casablanca on the Zeedijk and at Scheherazade, where Harry Verbeke played his languid tenor sax. There were the Jacobs brothers - pianist Pim and bass player Ruud. There was the Skymasters big band, vocalist Rita Reys, drummer Wessel Ilkcken, bassist Maarten Altena, guitarist Kees Kuyt, clarinetist Theo Loevendie and many others. Most of these musicians  played at the Concertgebouw.

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Was Amsterdam one of the world’s premiere jazz cities, outside of the US? It seems that way to me, in retrospect. Maybe Paris was even better. I’m not sure. France also attracted many American artists, for the same reasons that Amsterdam did. A free-spirited cultural environment, and little racism. Josephine Baker was the prototype black American expatriate who settled in France. Others included Miles Davis, the great pianist Bud Powell, drummer Kenny Clarke and many others.

But believe me, the Amsterdam scene was awesome, too! So these are some of the memories I wanted to share with you today.
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1. Some additional jazz musicians who came to the Amsterdam midnight concerts when I lived in that city: Al Cohn, Benny Golson, Benny Goodman,  Bob Cooper, Bud Powell, Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Eric Dolphy,  Erroll Garner,  Fats Navarro, Gene Krupa,  Herb Ellis, Jay Jay Johnson, Jimmy Giuffre,  June Christy,  Kay Winding, Kenny Clarke, Kid Ory, Lee Konitz, Lester Young, Lionel Hampton, Oscar Pettiford, Ray Brown, Zoot Sims and innumerable others.

© Tom Kando 2015
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