Benjamin Herman

Benjamin Herman ( born 1968 in London) is a Dutch jazz saxophonist (alto, C- melody saxophone) and composer.

Life and work

Herman grew up in Zaandijk, began with 12 years playing the saxophone ( a year later he joined so already professionally ) and studied at the Conservatory in Hilversum, where he "cum laude" graduated 1991 ( and 1989 Wessel Ilcken award as the best young jazz musicians received ) and then still studying at the " Manhattan School of Music" at Dick Oatts. His first album, Between a Dog and a Lamppost came out in 1992 with the " Benjamin Herman / Maarten van der Grinten quartet " of him and the guitarist Maarten van der Grinten. Herman is the bandleader of the " New Cool Collective " (and the " New Cool Collective Big Band " ), which he founded in 1994 with fellow musicians. They played several times at the North Sea Jazz Festival, toured in Germany in 1997 and 1998 in England and occur currently (2007) twice a month at the nightclub "Panama" in Amsterdam. In 1999 she received the Edison Award for their CD Big ( with Georgie Fame and Trijntje Oosterhuis ), their third album to New Cool Collective in 1997, More 1998 ( followed in 2002 by Bring it On ). They won the Heineken Crossover Award.

Herman plays and also takes with its own trio.

As a sideman he worked among others with Candy Dulfer, Gigantjes, Henk Westbroek and Saskia Laroo and went on tour in 2004 with guitarist Paul Weller. 2004 played on his album Heterogeneity of pianist Misha Mengelberg and trumpeter Bert Joris with. This album also won an Edison Award. In 2005 he recorded the album The Itch with Han Bennink, 2006 The London session with Bart van Lier and Stan Tracey, followed by Hypochristmastreefuzz ( Dox, 2011).

In 2005 he organized the program for "Jazz International Rotterdam ".

In 2006 he received the Boy Edgar Prize.