Jaap Blonk

Jaap Blonk ( born 1953 in Woerden, The Netherlands) is a Dutch composer, singer, and sound poet.

Life and work

As a musician Blonk is self-taught. He studied mathematics, physics and musicology (but no degree). Temporary work in - as Blonk calls it - well -organized system such as offices brought him to Dadaist actions. Blonk started playing saxophone, composing and reciting poetry.

Blonk specializing in performances of sound poetry, which he lets his enthusiasm for improvisation. He is the founder and director of Splinks, a 15-member ensemble, which operates at the interface between new music, computer music and free jazz, and the avant-garde rock trio BRAXTAAL. He also worked with improvising musicians such as Mats Gustafsson, Cor Fuhler, Carl Ludwig Pretty or Maja Ratkje. With Paul Dutton, Koichi Makigami, Phil Minton and David Moss, he founded the group Five Men Singing, which occurred at the festival in Victoriaville.

Among other things, Blonk recorded the Dadaist Kurt Schwitters Ursonata. Published 1986 record, which is sometimes considered the best setting of the Ursonata ever, was initially banned by the Schwitters - heirs Ernst Schwitters and withdrawn from circulation, whereupon Blonk an audio cassette under the pseudonym Reverof Zrem (reverse: " Merz forever", " Merz" was a pseudonym of Kurt Schwitters ) and bootleg brought into circulation. After the death of Ernst Schwitters recording from 1986 was reissued in 2003 along with a resulting further recording.

Blonk looked at various festivals with: inter alia, the Berlin Music Biennial in 1999, Witten Days for New Chamber Music in 2002, Rhenish Music Festival in 2002, Donaueschingen Music Days 2002 Blonk was a guest teacher at many institutions, such as the Poetry Academy in Vienna and the School. of the Art Institute of Chicago. Further exhibitions of his scores.