Han Bennink (born 17 April 1942) is a Dutch drummer and percussionist. On occasion his recordings have featured him playing soprano saxophone, bass clarinet, trombone, violin, banjo and piano. Though perhaps best known as one of the pivotal figures in early European

free jazz Free jazz is an experimental approach to jazz improvisation that developed in the late 1950s and early 1960s when musicians attempted to change or break down jazz conventions, such as regular tempos, tones, and chord changes. Musicians during ...

and

free improvisation Free improvisation or free music is improvised music without any rules beyond the logic or inclination of the musician(s) involved. The term can refer to both a technique (employed by any musician in any genre) and as a recognizable genre in its ...

, Bennink has worked in essentially every school of jazz, and is described by critic Chris Kelsey as "one of the unfortunately rare musicians whose abilities and interests span jazz's entire spectrum." Known for often injecting

slapstick Slapstick is a style of humor involving exaggerated physical activity that exceeds the boundaries of normal physical comedy. Slapstick may involve both intentional violence and violence by mishap, often resulting from inept use of props such a ...

and

absurdist humor Surreal humour (also called surreal comedy, absurdist humour, or absurdist comedy) is a form of humour predicated on deliberate violations of causal reasoning, thus producing events and behaviours that are obviously illogical. Portrayals of surrea ...

into his performances, Bennink has had especially fruitful long-term partnerships with pianist

Misha Mengelberg Misha Mengelberg (5 June 1935 – 3 March 2017) was a Dutch jazz pianist and composer.Feather, Leonard & Gitler, Ira (2007) ''The Biographical Encyclopedia of Jazz'', p. 459. Oxford University Press. A prominent figure in post-WWII European Jazz ...

and saxophonist

Peter Brötzmann Peter Brötzmann (born 6 March 1941) is a German saxophonist and clarinetist. Biography Early life Brötzmann was born in Remscheid, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. He studied painting in Wuppertal and was involved with the Fluxus movement ...

. Han is a brother of saxophonist Peter Bennink.

Early life and education

Bennink was born in

Zaandam Zaandam () is a city in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of North Holland, Netherlands. It is the main city of the municipality of Zaanstad, and received City rights in the Netherlands, city rights in 1811. It is located on the river Za ...

, the son of a classical percussionist. He played the drums and the clarinet during his teens.

Performing career

Through the 1960s he was the drummer with a number of American musicians visiting the Netherlands, including

Dexter Gordon Dexter Gordon (February 27, 1923 – April 25, 1990) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist, composer, bandleader, and actor. He was among the most influential early bebop musicians, which included other greats such as Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gi ...

Wes Montgomery John Leslie "Wes" Montgomery (March 6, 1923 – June 15, 1968) was an American jazz guitarist. Montgomery was known for an unusual technique of plucking the strings with the side of his thumb and his extensive use of octaves, which gave him a dist ...

Sonny Rollins Walter Theodore "Sonny" Rollins (born September 7, 1930) is an American jazz tenor saxophonist who is widely recognized as one of the most important and influential jazz musicians. In a seven-decade career, he has recorded over sixty albums as a ...

and

Eric Dolphy Eric Allan Dolphy Jr. (June 20, 1928 – June 29, 1964) was an American jazz alto saxophonist, bass clarinetist and flautist. On a few occasions, he also played the clarinet and piccolo. Dolphy was one of several multi-instrumentalists to gai ...

(he is present on Dolphy's recording, '' Last Date'' (1964)). He subsequently became a central figure in the emerging European

scene. In 1963 he formed a quartet with pianist

and saxophonist

Piet Noordijk Piet Noordijk (May 25, 1932 – October 8, 2011) was a Dutch saxophonist. Noordijk played with orchestras and big bands, including The Skymasters, The Ramblers and Malando. He was awarded the Wessel Ilcken Prize in 1965. Between 1978 and 1992, N ...

which performed at the 1966

Newport Jazz Festival The Newport Jazz Festival is an annual American multi-day jazz music festival held every summer in Newport, Rhode Island. Elaine Lorillard established the festival in 1954, and she and husband Louis Lorillard financed it for many years. They hire ...

. In 1967 he was a co-founder of the

Instant Composers Pool Instant Composers Pool (ICP) is an independent Dutch jazz and improvised music label and orchestra. Founded in 1967, the label takes its name from the notion that improvisation is "instant composition". The ICP label has published more than 50 r ...

with Mengelberg and

Willem Breuker Willem Breuker (4 November 1944 – 23 July 2010) was a Dutch bandleader, composer, arranger, saxophonist, and clarinetist. Career During the mid 1960s, he played with percussionist Han Bennink and pianist Misha Mengelberg, co-founding the Insta ...

, which sponsored Dutch avant garde performances. From the late 1960s, he played in a trio with saxophonist

and Belgian pianist

Fred Van Hove Fred Van Hove (19 February 1937 – 13 January 2022) was a Belgian jazz musician and a pioneer of European free jazz. He was a pianist, accordionist, church organist, and carillonist, an improviser and a composer. In the 1960s and 1970s he perf ...

, which became a duo after Van Hove's departure in 1976. Through much of the 1990s, he played in Clusone 3 (also known as the

Clusone Trio Clusone Trio, also known as Trio Clusone or Clusone 3, was a Dutch musical group active from the late 1980s to the late '90s, composed of saxophonist/clarinetist Michael Moore, cellist Ernst Reijseger and drummer Han Bennink. Initially planned to ...

), a trio with saxophonist/clarinetist

Michael Moore Michael Francis Moore (born April 23, 1954) is an American filmmaker, author and left-wing activist. His works frequently address the topics of globalization and capitalism. Moore won the 2002 Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature for ' ...

and cellist

Ernst Reijseger Ernst Reijseger (born 13 November 1954) is a Dutch cellist and composer. He specializes in avant-garde jazz, free jazz, improvised music, and contemporary classical music and often gives solo concerts. He has worked with Louis Sclavis, Derek ...

. He has often played duos with Mengelberg and collaborated with him alongside other musicians. From the late 1980s through the early 2000s, Bennik collaborated closely with Dutch

post-punk Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad genre of punk music that emerged in the late 1970s as musicians departed from punk's traditional elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a variety of avant-garde sensibilities and non-roc ...

band The Ex, appearing on their 1995 album ''

Instant In physics and the philosophy of science, instant refers to an infinitesimal interval in time, whose passage is instantaneous. In ordinary speech, an instant has been defined as "a point or very short space of time," a notion deriving from its ety ...

'' and travelling and playing with them on their first tour to Ethiopia.

Recordings

As well as playing with these long-standing groups, Bennink has performed and recorded solo (''Tempo Comodo'' (1982) being among his solo recordings) and played with many

and

musicians including Derek Bailey,

Conny Bauer Konrad "Conny" Bauer (born 4 July 1943) is a German free jazz trombonist. He is the brother of the trombonist Johannes Bauer. As a student at senior high school in Sonneberg between 1957 and 1961, he was enthusiastic about modern music and danc ...

Don Cherry Donald Stewart Cherry (born February 5, 1934) is a Canadian former ice hockey player, coach, and television commentator. Cherry played one game in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Boston Bruins, and later coached the team for five se ...

and

Alexander von Schlippenbach Alexander von Schlippenbach (born 7 April 1938) is a German jazz pianist and composer. He came to prominence in the 1960s playing free jazz in a trio with saxophonist Evan Parker and drummer Paul Lovens, and as a member of the Globe Unity Orchest ...

, as well as more conventional jazz musicians such as

Lee Konitz Leon Konitz (October 13, 1927 – April 15, 2020) was an American composer and alto saxophonist. He performed successfully in a wide range of jazz styles, including bebop, cool jazz, and avant-garde jazz. Konitz's association with the cool jazz ...

. In 1983 he collaborated with

boogie-woogie Boogie-woogie is a genre of blues music that became popular during the late 1920s, developed in African-American communities since 1870s.Paul, Elliot, ''That Crazy American Music'' (1957), Chapter 10, p. 229. It was eventually extended from pian ...

pianist and vocalist

Little Willie Littlefield Willie Littlefield, Jr., billed as Little Willie Littlefield (September 16, 1931 – June 23, 2013), was an American R&B and boogie-woogie pianist and singer whose early recordings "formed a vital link between boogie-woogie and rock and roll". ...

for his album, '' I'm in the Mood''.

Style

Bennink's style is wide-ranging, running from conventional jazz drumming to highly unconventional free improvisation, for which he often uses whatever found objects happen to be onstage (chairs, music stands, instrument cases), his own body (a favourite device involves putting a drumstick in his mouth and striking it with the other stick), and the entire performance space—the floor, doors, and walls. He makes frequent use of birdcalls and whatever else strikes his fancy (one particularly madcap performance in Toronto in the 1990s involved a deafening fire alarm bell placed on the floor).

Discography

The following is a partial list of recordings by Han Bennink.

Solo albums

* 1970: ''Solo'' (

) * 1973: ''Nerve Beats'' (UMS, ALP,

Atavistic In biology, an atavism is a modification of a biological structure whereby an ancestral genetic trait reappears after having been lost through evolutionary change in previous generations. Atavisms can occur in several ways; one of which is when ...

) * 1979: ''Solo - West/East'' ( FMP) * 1982: ''Tempo Comodo'' (

Data Records Ministry of Sound or Ministry of Sound Group is a multimedia entertainment business based in London with a nightclub, shared workspace and private members' club, worldwide events operation, music publishing business and fitness studio. James ...

) * 1997: ''Serpentine'' (Songlines Recordings) * 2001: ''Nerve Beats'' (

) * 2007: ''Amplified Trio'' (Treader Records) * 2009: ''

Parken Parken Stadium, also known simply as Parken and as Telia Parken (2014–2020), is a football stadium in the Indre Østerbro (''Inner Østerbro'') district of Copenhagen, Denmark, built from 1990 to 1992. The stadium, which features a retractable ...

'' (ILK Music)

Collaborations

As leader * 1968: ''Instant Composers Pool'', (

), with

and

John Tchicai John Martin Tchicai ( ; 28 April 1936 – 8 October 2012) was a Danish free jazz saxophonist and composer. Biography Tchicai was born in Copenhagen, Denmark, to a Danish mother and a Congolese father. The family moved to Aarhus, where he st ...

* 1972: '' Derek Bailey & Han Bennink'' (Ictus) with Derek Bailey * 1979: ''A European Proposal (Live In Cremona)'' (

Horo Records Horo Records was an Italian jazz record label. Discography HDP series * HDP 1-2 Irio De Paula orchestra Casinha Branca * HDP 3-4 Sam Rivers trio Black Africa 1 * HDP 5-6 Sam Rivers trio Black Africa 2 * HDP 7-8 Ran Blake solo piano Open City * HD ...

), including with Misha Mengelberg, Paul Rutherford and

Mario Schiano Mario Schiano (20 July 1933 in Naples – 10 May 2008 in Rome) was an Italian alto saxophonist and soprano saxophonist associated with avant-garde/free jazz. He was born in Naples. A member of the Italian Instabile Orchestra, Schiano recorded with ...

* 1997: ''3'' (VIA Jazz), with

Michiel Borstlap Michiel Borstlap (born 5 August 1966) is a Dutch pianist and composer. Career In 1992 Borstlap completed his studies with highest honors at the Conservatory in Hilversum, where he received piano lessons from Dutch masters like Henk Elkerbo ...

and Ernst Glerum * 2000: ''Jazz Bunker'' (Golden Years Of New Jazz), with

Eugene Chadbourne Eugene Chadbourne (born January 4, 1954) is an American banjoist, guitarist and music critic. Life and career Chadbourne was born in Mount Vernon, New York, but grew up in Boulder, Colorado. He started playing guitar when he was eleven or twel ...

and

Toshinori Kondo was a Japanese avant-garde jazz and jazz fusion trumpeter. Career Kondo was born in Ehime Prefecture. He attended Kyoto university in 1967, and became close friends with percussionist Tsuchitori Toshiyuki. In 1972 the pair left university, an ...

* 2004: ''Free Touching (Live In Beijing At Keep In Touch)'' (Noise Asia), with Wong Young,

Andreas Schreiber Martin Andreas Schreiber (born July 21, 1987) is a Swedish basketball player who last played for Zornotza ST in the LEB Plata, Spanish third division. He is 208 cm (6"10 ft) tall in shoes and can play both the center (basketball), cente ...

Dennis Rea Dennis Rea (born July 7, 1957) is an American guitarist, author, and music event organizer. He was a member of the electronic music group Earthstar in the late 1970s and early 1980s. He leads the progressive rock quintet Moraine and worked with ...

, Steffen Schorn, and Claudio Puntin * 2004: ''Home Safely'' (Favorite), with

Curtis Clark Curtis Clark (born 23 April 1950) is a jazz pianist from Chicago, United States. Clark was born in Chicago, Illinois in 1950, but moved to Los Angeles where he spent his student years and started composing and playing the piano. After Clark grad ...

and Ernst Glerum * 2004: ''3'' (55 Records), with Michiel Borstlap and Ernst Glerum * 2005: ''BBG'' (Favorite), with Michiel Borstlap and Ernst Glerum * 2008: ''Monk Volume One'' (Gramercy Park Music), with Michiel Borstlap and Ernst Glerum * 2010: ''Laiv'' (Bassesferec), with Fabrizio Puglisi and Ernst Glerum With Ray Anderson and

Christy Doran Christy Doran (born 1949) is a jazz guitarist born in Dublin, Ireland, and raised in Lucerne, Switzerland. Doran founded OM with Fredy Studer, Urs Leimgruber, and Bobby Burri in the 1970s; this ensemble recorded for ECM. He and Studer also wo ...

* 1994: ''

Azurety ''Azurety'' is an album by trombonist/tubist Ray Anderson, drummer Han Bennink and guitarist Christy Doran which was released on the hat ART label in 1994.

'' ( hat ART) * 1995: '' Cheer Up'' (hat ART) * 2011: ''Who Is In Charge?'' (Kemo), including with Frank Möbus, Ernst Glerum, and Paul van Kemenade With

Gary Bartz Gary Bartz (born September 26, 1940) is an American jazz saxophonist. He has won two Grammy Awards. Biography Bartz studied at the Juilliard School. In the early 1960s, he performed with Eric Dolphy and McCoy Tyner in Charles Mingus' Jazz Works ...

Jackie McLean John Lenwood "Jackie" McLean (May 17, 1931 – March 31, 2006) was an American jazz alto saxophonist, composer, bandleader, and educator, and is one of the few musicians to be elected to the ''DownBeat'' Hall of Fame in the year of their deat ...

and

Charlie Mariano Carmine Ugo Mariano (November 12, 1923 – June 16, 2009) was an American jazz saxophonist who focused on the alto and soprano saxophone. He occasionally performed and recorded on flute and nadaswaram as well. Biography Mariano was born in ...

*''

Altissimo Altissimo (Italian for ''very high'') is the uppermost register on woodwind instruments. For clarinets, which overblow on odd harmonics, the altissimo notes are those based on the fifth, seventh, and higher harmonics. For other woodwinds, the a ...

'' (Philips, 1973) With

Paul Bley Paul Bley, CM (November 10, 1932 – January 3, 2016) was a jazz pianist known for his contributions to the free jazz movement of the 1960s as well as his innovations and influence on trio playing and his early live performance on the Moog and ...

and

Annette Peacock Annette Peacock is an American composer, musician, songwriter, producer, and arranger. She is a pioneer in electronic music who combined her voice with one of the first Moog synthesizers in the late 1960s. Biography Annette Peacock was writing ...

* 1971: ''

Improvisie ''Improvisie'' is a live album by Paul Bley with Annette Peacock and Han Bennink which was released on the French America label in 1971.Dual Unity ''Dual Unity'' is a live album by Annette Peacock and Paul Bley (credited as Annette & Paul Bley) which was released by Freedom Records in 1972.Anthony Braxton Anthony Braxton (born June 4, 1945) is an American experimental composer, educator, music theorist, improviser and multi-instrumentalist who is best known for playing saxophones, particularly the alto. Braxton grew up on the South Side of Chica ...

*''

Anthony Braxton's Charlie Parker Project 1993 ''Anthony Braxton's Charlie Parker Project 1993'' is an album featuring live and studio performances of compositions associated with Charlie Parker arranged and performed by saxophonist Anthony Braxton which was recorded in Switzerland and Germany ...

'' (HatART, 1993

995 Year 995 (Roman numerals, CMXCV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Japan * 17 May - Fujiwara no Michitaka (imperial regent) dies. * 3 June: Fujiwara no ...

With

Steve Beresford Steve Beresford (born 6 March 1950) is a British musician who graduated from the University of York He has played a variety of instruments, including piano, electronics, trumpet, euphonium, bass guitar and a wide variety of toy instruments, such ...

* 1987: ''Directly To Pyjamas'' (Nato) * 2002: ''B + B'' (

) With

* 1967: ''New Acoustic Swing Duo'' (Instant Composers Pool) With

* 1964: '' Last Date'' (

Limelight Records Limelight Records was a jazz record label and subsidiary of Mercury Records started in 1962. The catalogue included music by Art Blakey, Dizzy Gillespie, Earl Hines, Milt Jackson, Gerry Mulligan, and Oscar Peterson. Originally headed by Quincy Jone ...

) * 1964: ''Playing: Epistrophy, June 1, 1964 In Eindhoven, Holland'' (ICP; includes Misha Mengelberg and Jacques Schols; rehearsal tape for the above concert issued 1975) With

* 1968: ''

Machine Gun A machine gun is a fully automatic, rifled autoloading firearm designed for sustained direct fire with rifle cartridges. Other automatic firearms such as automatic shotguns and automatic rifles (including assault rifles and battle rifles) a ...

'' ( FMP) * 1969: ''

Nipples The nipple is a raised region of tissue on the surface of the breast from which, in females, milk leaves the breast through the lactiferous ducts to feed an infant. The milk can flow through the nipple passively or it can be ejected by smooth mu ...

'' (Calig) * 1970: ''Balls'' (FMP), including with

* 1977: ''Ein Halber Hund Kann Nicht Pinkeln'' (FMP) * 1977: ''Schwarzwaldfahrt'' (FMP) * 1979: ''3 Points And A Mountain'' ( FMP), including with Misha Mengelberg * 1980: ''Atsugi Concert'' (Gua Bungue) * 2005: ''Still Quite Popular After All Those Years'' (BRÖ Records) * 2006: ''Total Music Meeting 1977 Berlin'' (BRÖ Records) * 2008: ''In Amherst 2006'' (BRÖ Records) With Eric Boeren * 2012: ''Coconut'' (De Platenbakkerij), including with

and Wilbert de Joode With

Marion Brown Marion Brown (September 8, 1931 – October 18, 2010) was an American jazz alto saxophonist, composer, writer, visual artist, and ethnomusicologist. He was a member of the avant-garde jazz scene in New York City during the 1960s, playing alongs ...

* 1967: ''

Porto Novo Porto-Novo (Portuguese: "New Port", , ; yo, Àjàṣẹ́, ), also known as Hogbonu and Ajashe, is the capital of Benin. The commune covers an area of and as of 2002 had a population of 223,552 people. Situated on an inlet of the Gulf of Gu ...

'' (Freedom) With

Sean Bergin Sean Bergin (29 June 1948 – 1 September 2012) was an avant-garde jazz saxophonist and flautist from South Africa. Bergin was born in Durban on 29 June 1948. He was a saxophonist, flautist, composer, educator and bandleader. In his youth Ber ...

* 1988: ''Kid's Mysteries'' (Nimbus West) With

Uri Caine Uri Caine (born June 8, 1956, Philadelphia, United States) is an American classical and jazz pianist and composer. Biography Early years The son of Burton Caine, a professor at Temple Law School, and poet Shulamith Wechter Caine, Caine began p ...

* 2013: ''Sonic Boom'' (816 Music) With

* 2001: ''21 Years Later (Train Kept A Rollin')'' (

Leo Records Leo Records is a British record company and label which releases jazz from Russian, American, and British musicians. It concentrates on free jazz. Leo Records was founded in 1979 by Leo Feigin (also known under his broadcasting name Aleksei Le ...

) * 2005: ''Chad And Han'' (House Of Chadula) With

* 1971: ''

Orient The Orient is a term for the East in relation to Europe, traditionally comprising anything belonging to the Eastern world. It is the antonym of ''Occident'', the Western World. In English, it is largely a metonym for, and coterminous with, the c ...

'' (BYG) * 1971: ''

Actions Action may refer to: * Action (narrative), a literary mode * Action fiction, a type of genre fiction * Action game, a genre of video game Film * Action film, a genre of film * ''Action'' (1921 film), a film by John Ford * ''Action'' (1980 fil ...

'' (Philips) With Daniele D'Agaro * 2003: ''Strandjutters'' (

hatOLOGY Hathut Records is a Swiss record company and label founded by Werner Xavier Uehlinger in 1974 that specializes in jazz and classical music. The name of the label comes from the artwork of Klaus Baumgartner. Hathut encompasses the labels hat ART, ...

), including with Ernst Glerum * 2010: ''Fingerprints'' (Artesuono), including with

With

Ellery Eskelin Ellery Eskelin (born August 16, 1959) is an American tenor saxophonist raised in Baltimore, Maryland and residing in New York City. His parents, Rodd Keith and Bobbie Lee, were both professional musicians. Rodd Keith died in 1974 in Los Angeles, ...

* 1998: ''Dissonant Characters'' (

) With Terrie Ex (and others) * 2000: ''The Laughing Owl'' (Terp Records) * 2002: ''Ethiopia Tour 2002'' (Not On Label) * 2006: ''Transparancy-Wolk 3'' (Terp Records), including with Rik van Iersel,

Bart Maris Bart Maris is a Belgian trumpet player. He has performed in a very large number of bands, either as a group member or a guest musician on records or in concert. He was one of the original members of Fukkeduk with Niek Roseeuw, Kristof Roseeuw, ...

, and P Jacomyn * 2007: ''Zeng!'' (Terp Records) * 2010: ''Let's Go'' (Terp Records), including with Brodie West With

Cor Fuhler Cornelis William Hendrik Fuhler (3 July 1964 – 19 July 2020) was a Dutch/Australian improvisor, composer, and instrument builder associated with free jazz, experimental music and acoustic ecology. He played piano by manipulating sound with elec ...

and Wilbert De Joode * 1998: ''Bellagram'' (Geestgronden) * 1998: "Zilch" (ConundromCd) * 2003: ''Tinderbox'' (

) With

Frode Gjerstad Frode Gjerstad (born 24 March 1948) is a Norwegian jazz musician with alto saxophone as principal instrument, but he also plays other saxophones, clarinet, and flute. He has collaborated with Paal Nilssen-Love, Borah Bergman, Peter Brötzmann, E ...

* 2009: ''Han & Frode'' (

Cadence Jazz Records Cadence Jazz is an American record company and label specializing in noncommercial modern jazz. It is associated with ''Cadence Magazine''. Cadence Jazz was founded by Bob Rusch in Redwood, New York in 1980. By 2000 the label had issued more t ...

) With Kees Hazevoet * 1978: ''Calling Down The Flevo Spirit'' (Snipe Records) With Will Holshouser and

* 2011: ''Live In NYC'' (Ramboy Recordings) With

Kazuo Imai is a Tokyo-based guitarist who plays in a rigorous and original free improvisation idiom. His music joins the rigour and texture of contemporary classical with the passion of free jazz. He has played with many Western and Japanese improvisers, inc ...

* 2003: ''Across The Desert'' (Improvised Music From Japan) With Mikko Innanen and Jaak Sooäär * 2006: ''Spring Odyssey'' (TUM Records) With

With

Guus Janssen Guus Janssen (born 13 May 1951) is a Dutch composer of contemporary music and a recording artist. A pianist and harpsichordist, he is also active as a jazz performer. He studied piano and composition at the Sweelinck Academy of Music in Amster ...

* 2005: ''Groet'' (

) With Steve Lacy * 1978: ''Lumps'' (Instant Composers Pool), including with

Michel Waisvisz Michel Waisvisz ( ; 8 July 1949, Leiden – 18 June 2008, Amsterdam) was a Dutch composer, performer and inventor of experimental electronic musical instruments. He was the artistic director of STEIM in Amsterdam from 1981, where he collaborated ...

and Maarten Van Regteren Altena With

* 1983: '' I'm in the Mood'' (

Oldie Blues Oldie Blues was a Dutch record label founded and owned by Martin van Olderen. History The label was founded in 1974 and focused primarily on piano blues, boogie-woogie and Delta blues, issuing 46 LPs and 13 CDs.Wynn, Neil, ''Cross the Water Blu ...

) With

Keshavan Maslak Kenneth Keshavan Maslak, who also performs under the stage name Kenny Millions (born February 26, 1950), is an American jazz multi-instrumentalist, avant-garde performance artist, poet and restaurateur. Biography Kenneth Keshavan Maslak was bo ...

* 1980: ''Humanplexity'' (

), including with Misha Mengelberg * 2008: ''Bim Huis Live 1st Set'' (Hum Ha Records) With

Myra Melford Myra Melford (born January 5, 1957) is an American avant-garde jazz pianist and composer. A 2013 Guggenheim Fellow, Melford was described by the ''San Francisco Chronicle'' as an "explosive player, a virtuoso who shocks and soothes, and who can m ...

* 1997: ''

Eleven Ghosts ''Eleven Ghosts'' is an album of duets by pianist Myra Melford and drummer/percussionist Han Bennink which was recorded in Switzerland in 1994 and released on the HatOLOGY label in 1997.

'' (hatOLOGY) recorded 1994 With

* 1971: ''Instant Composers Pool 010'' (Instant Composers Pool) * 1972: ''Een Mirakelse Tocht Door Het Scharrebroekse no. 1-6'' (Instant Composers Pool) * 1974: ''EinePartieTischtennis'' ( FMP, Instant Composers Pool), live * 1975: ''Coincidents'' (Stichting ICP Geluidsdragers, Instant Composers Pool) * 1978: ''Midwoud 77'' (Instant Composers Pool) * 1978: ''Groupcomposing'' (

), including with

Evan Parker Evan Shaw Parker (born 5 April 1944) is a British tenor and soprano saxophone player who plays free improvisation. Recording and performing prolifically with many collaborators, Parker was a pivotal figure in the development of European free ja ...

, Peter Bennink, Paul Rutherford, and Derek Bailey * 1978: ''Fragments'' (Instant Composers Pool), including with

, and Derek Bailey * 1982: ''Bennink Mengelberg'' (Instant Composers Pool) * 1985: ''Change Of Season (Music Of Herbie Nichols)'' (

Soul Note Black Saint and Soul Note are two affiliated Italian independent record labels. Since their conception in the 1970s, they have released albums from a variety of influential jazz musicians, particularly in the genre of free jazz. History Black S ...

), including with Steve Lacy,

George E. Lewis George Emanuel Lewis (born July 14, 1952) is an American composer, performer, and scholar of experimental music. He has been a member of the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians ( AACM) since 1971, when he joined the organization ...

, and Arjen Gorter * 1991: ''Dutch Masters'' (Soul Note), with Steve Lacy, George Lewis, Ernst Reyseger, and Han Bennink * 1994: ''Mix'' (Instant Composers Pool) * 1996: ''The Instant Composers Pool 30 Years'' (Instant Composers Pool) * 1998: ''MiHa'' (Instant Composers Pool) * 2001: ''Four in One'' (Songlines Recordings), with Misha Mengelberg Quartet ( Dave Douglas, Brad Jones, Han Bennink) * 2004: ''Senne Sing Song'' (

Tzadik Tzadik ( he, צַדִּיק , "righteous ne, also ''zadik'', ''ṣaddîq'' or ''sadiq''; pl. ''tzadikim'' ''ṣadiqim'') is a title in Judaism given to people considered righteous, such as biblical figures and later spiritual masters. The ...

) With Kenny Millions * 2003: ''Bootleg'' (Hum Ha Records) With

Pino Minafra Pino Minafra (born 21 Juli 1951 in Ruvo di Puglia) is an Italian people, Italian trumpeter and flugelhorn player who is associated with free improvisation, avant-garde jazz. A founding member of the Italian Instabile Orchestra, Minafra has recorded ...

* 1987: ''Tropic Of The Mounted Sea Chicken'' (Splasc(H) Records), including with Misha Mengelberg, Michele Lomuto, and Unknown Artist * 1991: ''Noci...Strani Frutti (Live At Europa Festival Jazz)'' (

), including with

With

* 2001: ''White Widow'' (Ramboy Recordings), including with Alex Maguire and

Mark Helias Mark Helias (born October 1, 1950) is an American double bass player and composer born in New Brunswick, New Jersey. He started playing the double bass at the age of 20, and studied with Homer Mensch at Rutgers University from 1971 to 1974, then ...

With

Simon Nabatov Simon Nabatov (born 11 January 1959) is a Russian-American jazz pianist. Early life Nabatov was born in Moscow on 11 January 1959. His parents were Leon, a professional pianist and choir conductor who was a native of Belarus, and Regina. Nabatov ...

* 2003: ''Chat Room'' (

) With

Armen Nalbandian Armen Nalbandian (born April 6, 1978, in Manchester, England) is a British-born Armenian American jazz pianist, composer, author, and activist from Los Angeles, California. Music Highly influenced by Thelonious Monk, Nalbandian performs jazz, fre ...

* 2011: ''Coup de Grace'' (Blacksmith Brother) With Mark O'Leary * 2008: ''Television'' (Ayler Records) With

* 1970: '' The Topography of the Lungs'' (

Incus The ''incus'' (plural incudes) or anvil is a bone in the middle ear. The anvil-shaped small bone is one of three ossicles in the middle ear. The ''incus'' receives vibrations from the ''malleus'', to which it is connected laterally, and transmit ...

) with Derek Bailey * 2002: ''The Grass Is Greener'' (psi) With Alessandra Patrucco * 2006: ''Circus'' (

), including with

Tristan Honsinger Tristan Honsinger (born October 23, 1949) is an American cello player active in free jazz and free improvisation. He is perhaps best known for his long-running collaboration with free jazz pianist Cecil Taylor and guitarist Derek Bailey. Born ...

, and

Ab Baars Ab Baars (born November 21, 1955 in Axel, Netherlands) is a Dutch saxophonist and clarinetist who has had an active performance career since the 1970s. He has recorded several albums for the Geestgronden Records, Atavistic Records, and WIG record ...

With

Dudu Pukwana Mthutuzeli Dudu Pukwana (18 July 1938 – 30 June 1990) was a South African saxophonist, composer and pianist (although not known for his piano playing). Early years in South Africa Dudu Pukwana was born in Walmer Township, Port Elizabeth, S ...

* 1979: ''Yi Yole'' (

), including with Misha Mengelberg With

Roswell Rudd Roswell Hopkins Rudd Jr. (November 17, 1935 – December 21, 2017) was an American jazz trombonist and composer. Although skilled in a variety of genres of jazz (including Dixieland, which he performed while in college), and other genres of musi ...

* 1983: ''

Regeneration Regeneration may refer to: Science and technology * Regeneration (biology), the ability to recreate lost or damaged cells, tissues, organs and limbs * Regeneration (ecology), the ability of ecosystems to regenerate biomass, using photosynthesis ...

'' (

), including with Steve Lacy,

Kent Carter Kent Carter (born June 14, 1939 in Hanover, New Hampshire) is an American jazz bassist. His father, Alan Carter, founded the Vermont Symphony Orchestra. He is also the grandson of American artist, Rockwell Kent. He worked in Steve Lacy's group, ...

, and Misha Mengelberg With Paul Ruys * 1966: ''Lover, Come Swing With Me'' (

Philips Koninklijke Philips N.V. (), commonly shortened to Philips, is a Dutch multinational conglomerate corporation that was founded in Eindhoven in 1891. Since 1997, it has been mostly headquartered in Amsterdam, though the Benelux headquarters i ...

), including with

Pim Jacobs Willem Bernard "Pim" Jacobs (29 October 1934 – 3 July 1996) was a Dutch jazz pianist, composer and television presenter. Early life Jacobs was born on 29 October 1934 in Hilversum, the Netherlands. His parents were artistic. He started playin ...

Ruud Jacobs Ruud and Rud are surnames of Norwegian origin. Both are also Norwegian place names of numerous farmsteads named Rud or Ruud from Old Norse ''ruð'' meaning clearing. Ruud is also a Dutch masculine given name meaning "famous wolf" although it is also ...

, and Wim Overgaauw With

Irene Schweizer Irene is a name derived from εἰρήνη (eirēnē), the Greek for "peace". Irene, and related names, may refer to: * Irene (given name) Places * Irene, Gauteng, South Africa * Irene, South Dakota, United States * Irene, Texas, United Stat ...

* 1996: '' Irène Schweizer & Han Bennink'' (Intakt Records) * 2015: ''Welcome Back'' (Intakt Records) With Jaak Sooäär * 2013: ''Beach Party'' (Barefoot Records) With

Spring Heel Jack Spring Heel Jack is an English electronic music duo, consisting of John Coxon and Ashley Wales. Formed in 1993 in London, England, Spring Heel Jack began their career exploring drum and bass and jungle, but have since branched out into free ...

* 2003: ''Live'' (

Thirsty Ear Thirsty Ear Recordings is an American independent record label. It was founded in the late 1970s as a marketing company for the then-unnamed alternative music field, and expanded to issue its own records in 1990. Thirsty Ear came to prominence ...

), including with

Matthew Shipp Matthew Shipp (born December 7, 1960) is an American pianist, composer, and bandleader. Early life and education Shipp was raised in Wilmington, Delaware, and began playing piano at six years old. His mother was a friend of trumpeter Clifford B ...

J Spaceman Jason Andrew Pierce (born 19 November 1965 in Rugby) is an English musician. Currently the frontman and sole permanent member of the band Spiritualized, he previously co-fronted the alternative rock band Spacemen 3 with Peter Kember from 1982 ...

, and William Parker With

Aki Takase (born January 26, 1948) is a Japanese jazz pianist and composer. Biography Takase was born in Osaka and started to play piano at age 3. Raised in Tokyo, she studied classical piano at Toho Gakuen School of Music.Ankeny, Jaso"Artist Biography".A ...

* 2011: '' Two for Two'' (Intakt Records) With

Cecil Taylor Cecil Percival Taylor (March 25, 1929April 5, 2018) was an American pianist and poet. Taylor was classically trained and was one of the pioneers of free jazz. His music is characterized by an energetic, physical approach, resulting in complex ...

* 1988: '' Spots, Circles, and Fantasy'' (FMP) With Rik van Iersel * 2005: ''Transparancy-Wolk No. 3'' (Rikordings)

References

External links

Biography and discography from the European Free Improvisation Pages
*

* * *: Solo by Bennink performed on a custom drum kit made from Dutch cheeses {{DEFAULTSORT:Bennink, Han Free jazz percussionists Free jazz drummers Dutch jazz drummers Male drummers Dutch jazz percussionists 1942 births Living people People from Zaanstad Avant-garde jazz drummers Avant-garde jazz percussionists Male jazz musicians ICP Orchestra members The Ex (band) members Clusone Trio members Ilk Records artists Atavistic Records artists FMP/Free Music Production artists Incus Records artists Intakt Records artists