CONTEMPORARY SURINAMESE JAZZ

Abstract

This chapter examines the position of jazz musicians in the Netherlands from the 1970s onward and discusses important musical developments and reactions in the Dutch press. It also provides information on the key players. In 1973, ten years after the death of Kid Dynamite, social worker and bass guitarist Vincent Henar began organizing jazz concerts in the club Kwakoe-Bijlmermeer. By Surinamese standards quite avant-garde music resounded among the tall blocks of apartment buildings. Surinamese jazz musicians had discovered the music of Charlie Parker and Miles Davis. Ten years later, two groups, Surinam Music Ensemble (SME) and Fra Fra Sound, took over the torch from Kid Dynamite. They developed a new music form in which Afro-Surinamese, Caribbean, and Afro-American traditions all flowed together. These were the most important steps towards the creation of Paramaribop.