Jimi Tenor at North Sea Jazz festival 2003

The concert of the Jimi Tenor Big Band took place during a tribute to the extravagant bandleader Sun-Ra, who died ten years ago.

In the best Sun-Ra tradition the Jimi Tenor Big Band entered the stage making 'a hell of a lot noise'. It looked a bit strange to see mostly blonde musicians from Finland in their typical Sun-Ra glitter outfits, but from the moment the first composition exploded the Jimi Tenor Big Band was launched.

Without complicated and unnecessary pretensions, often associated with the music of Sun-Ra, Jimi played with a lot of joy with a steady grooving band behind him. Why don't we see more bands like the one Jimi is playing with?

Tenor's rock and roll feel, his healthy 'bad' taste for nasty synth sounds makes him attractive for a wide audience. His band is populated with only the best horn players around, and supplied with a heavy swinging rhythm section on top! So let's hope Jimi will give the boys some more space to solo in the coming performances.

translated loosely from the Dutch newspaper "De Volkskrant" by Frans van Erkel, photos by Frans van Erkel

The concert is available on demand at NPS.