| Bite the Gnatze is playing for more than twenty years and for a long time with the same musicians, all rooted in the jazz and improvised music scene of Amsterdam. In the music, composed by guitarplayer Paul Pallesen, you hear echo's of Monk and Mingus and classical composers as Darius Milhaud and Charles Ives. But with the banjo and lapsteelguitar more pop and folksounds slip into the music. Cadense magazine wrote: "A collective whose comic flair and precise technique confirms the exuberant passion and confidence of Holland’s free music scene" .
Bite the Gnatze are:
Joost Buis trombone and lapsteelguitar
Played with almost everybody of any importance in the avantgarde jazz and improvised music scene in Holland. His most recent activities are his own band Buisonic , the David Kweksilber bigband , the Jasper Stadhouder Polyband, his duo with saxophonist Ab Baars and playing with Corrie van Binsbergen.
Michel Duijves clarinet, bass clarinet and whistle
Besides jazz , Klezmer , East European traditional music and classical music were always an important source of inspiration. With his band Maalstroom he explored new Anglo and Dutch folkmusic
Meinrad Kneer double bass
Together with Albert van Veenendaal, he launched the independent recordlabel Evil Rabbit. After moving back from Amsterdam to Berlin, he formed his Meinrad Kneer quintet and joined the Julie Sassoon quartet. He also joined the quartet Dalgoo with reedplayers Tobias Klein and Lothar Ohlmeier.
Frank van Bommel piano, vibraphone and klockenspiel
Most mentioned in reviews and articles is his Richard Twardzik project . He reinterpreted and rearranged Twardzik's music and did lots of performances with this project. Most recent he works with performer and singer Felix Strategier and the trio Plots with drummer Wim Janssen and bass clarinettist Ziv Taubenfeld.
Alan Purves percussion and drums
After a long career and having worked with numerous musicians in Holland and abroad, he is now playing with guitarplayer Corrie van Binsbergen and has duo's with Mark Lotz (flutes) and with Albert van Veenendaal (piano). He invented and built his own fantastic sounding percussion instruments. "Alan Purves is a complete unique percussionist, always looking for new sounds and playing methods".
Steven Kampermann alto clarinet and soprano saxophone
His most known band was Barana with which he played and toured for many years. Now he is playing with his organtrio HOT, his duo with the French hurdy curdy player Valentin Clastrier and his project NeOropa with Michel Godard on tuba. “Steven Kamperman might be one of the best clarinet players in the Netherlands, but he certainly is the most adventurous one.” (Moors Magazine)
Paul Pallesen guitar, banjo and compositions
Played in the past with the Astronotes, the Gravitones, did theatre performances with the Appel, mimegroup the Daders and joined projects as Spoken Beat Night with bass clarinettist Maarten Ornstein and Pillow Circles with saxophonist Jorrit Dijkstra. He is also a member of the new band Buisonic. "His music has a comforting ability in connecting the avantgarde city sounds with the traditional sounds from quiet places in the world". |
