Special night for Jasper Blom, winner of the Buma Boy Edgar Prize 2019

5 December 2019

The Buma Boy Edgar Prize, the most important reward in the Netherlands in the field of jazz and improvised music, is awarded this year to saxophonist and composer Jasper Blom. inJazz attended the festive concert night at Bimhuis, compiled by Blom himself.

Several surprises
As the winner of the Buma Boy Edgar Prize 2019, Jasper Blom (54) was invited to put together a festive programme at Bimhuis in Amsterdam on December 4th. The (tenor and soprano) saxophone player first performed with his quartet of twenty years – this time with additional pianist Pablo Held – and he offered several surprises to the sold-out venue after that.

Joyous evening
In a quartet setting Blom played two indestructible tunes by Misha Mengelberg, to be followed by a couple of newly written – and beautifully arranged – pieces inspired by the poetry of Emily Dickinson for an equally young tentet. The coveted Prize was handed to him by presenter/performer Wilfried de Jong, who triggered quite a few laughs from the audience and from the winner himself. A quartet consisting of Blom, his mentor Dick Oatts on alto saxophone, and a rhythm section consisting of father Mike (bass) and (young) son Mekhi Boone (drums) played the energetic last set of this joyous evening.

Registrations were made during Blom’s night. Enjoy some parts of the programme at Bimhuis by watching the videos.

Photo: Govert Driessen