Benjamin Herman’s new album Nostalgia Blitz is dedicated to the alto saxophonists he admired in the 1980s, such as James Chance, Xero Slingsby en John Lurie. Saxophonists with an attitude, ideas and energy, according to Benjamin. For the recordings he locked himself in the studio together with a wild bunch of talents. Live he will perform the songs with bassist Thomas Pol and drummer Jimmi Hueting.

‘When I started making music in 1980, the saxophone was the hippest instrument in the world’, says Benjamin. ‘Alongside a deluge of slick sax heroes, there were individuals who did everything in their own way. Atonal disco, conceptual art jazz, punk jazz. Alongside Charlie Parker, Ben Webster, Sonny Rollins and John Coltrane, they made a huge impact on my music. Nostalgia Blitz is an attempt to stretch the borders of my own playing and pay tribute to some of my youth heroes.

For the last thirty years, Benjamin Herman has been one of the most productive musicians of his generation. Since the 1990s, he has performed all over the world and released over fifty albums, with his band New Cool Collective and under his own name. His remarkably diverse musical output encompasses traditional jazz, punk jazz, film music, and postmodern interpretations of the work of composer Misha Mengelberg.

Benjamin Herman alto sax, Thomas Pol double bass, Jimmi Hueting drums