Make Boots

Here's a taste of what the jazz scene was like in San Antonio, Texas during the mid-'30s. Clifford "Boots" Douglas (born in Temple, Texas September 7, 1908) led his 12- piece band from behind the drums, playing for dancers and leaving behind a trail of tasty Bluebird 78 rpm recordings. This is the second of two volumes containing all of this band's known works. The instrumentalists are barely remembered nowadays, even such powerful participants as trumpeter L.D. Harris, an extraordinary tenor man named Baker Millian, and an alto player with the unenviable nickname "Wee Wee." Boots became increasingly peculiar in his choice of altered and abbreviated song titles…

Meet Clifford "Boots" Douglas, a solid drummer who led a fine big band in and around San Antonio, Texas during the mid-'30s. Thanks to the efforts of the men behind Victor's budget Bluebird label, Boots managed to make no less than 42 recordings, exactly half of which are presented here, on 1935-1937. Most of the players are shrouded in obscurity. A.J. Johnson was an able pianist, Walter McHenry packed punches with his upright bass, and Baker Millian handled a tenor sax with warmth and finesse. The leader's straightforward shuffle-drumming punctuated with concisely employed cymbal strikes is delightfully consistent, and at times exciting, for example during the stomp simply known as "Riffs"…

This CD offers 75 minutes of dynamic electronic music. Joining Boots on this release are: Klaus Hoffmann Hoock on guitar, Harold van der Heijden and Guido Negraszus on drums, and Eric van der Heijden.
Even the most discriminating audiophile will be captivated from the onset of this CD. Crystalline keyboards tremble with icy clarity, while majestic drums delineate powerfully engaging rhythms. Sparkling electronic embellishments cavort in a gloriously twilight sky, evoking strong promise for an optimistic sunrise. A thrilling drama permeates this song, reaching deep into the human soul to stir legendary courage and bring such emotions cascading to the surface of the audience's mind. The melodic music is wrought with sinewy disposition tempered with humanitarian sympathy, a masterful fusion of strength and compassion that will delight as equally as it mesmerizes…

Boots Randolph's signature tune, "Yakety Sax," was inspired by the sax solo in the Coasters' "Yakety Yak," and is much better known than its modest chart placement might suggest. Randolph had recorded "Yakety Sax" for RCA several years earlier without success, but his Monument recording clicked in 1963 and the accompanying gold-selling album spent nearly a year on the charts. Randolph's unique status as the man who popularized the saxophone in Nashville is reflected in half an album's worth of country songs like "I Fall to Pieces" and "If You've Got the Money." Randolph acknowledges the Coasters again on a version of "Charlie Brown," and gives the commercial folk craze the nod with renditions of "Cotton Fields" and "Walk Right In."

Ron Boots: This is our third official live release and it gives an impression of the music we play as specials and encore pieces. In other words: This is all new music. You don't hear any familiar pieces from other CDs. That makes this CD unique, with music that was played once and will never be heard in this form again.
For us musicians this is the greatest way to perform; not being limited to studio versions, it gives us a feeling of freedom on stage and it certainly increases the amount of adrenalin in our vains during the performance…

Current was an important album for the Dutchman. It came as a follow-up of some rather successful albums and can perhaps be regarded as a "warm-up" for his brilliant album Tainted Bare Skin from 1998. Now, again ten years later, "Current" has been carefully remastered by Ron and re-released on the Groove Unlimited label.
Current is a solo-album in the true sense of the word. Where on many other albums Ron is accompanied by guest-musicians, he works alone on "Current". The only exception are the drums on "Close Call" which are played by Harold van der Heijden. Two things play an important part on "Current". First of all, the sequences; they are beautifully crafted and long-stretched…

"From The Forgotten Rooms Of A Lonely House" is a limited edition album of only 400 copies, offered as a free gift to visitors of the concerts held on December 30, 2011 and January 8th, 2012. The first three tracks on this album are live-pieces by the quartet MorPheuSz (Eric, Frank, Harold and Ron).
Compared too the mellow "Garden Gomblins…" album, the band here plays more dynamic and melodic/progessive music, including glowing versions of "Another Timeroom" and "Da Capo".
The other four tracks are solo creations by Ron Boots created in his own studio, kicking off with the beautiful, slightly dark space music of "Lost Stars"…

Shortly after the excellent album “La Caída De Harmigón”, Ron Boots releases “Ante Oculos”. Ante Oculos is an expression from art. The biggest part of this album contains the music that “Big Ron” and his friends Eric van der Heijden (synthesizers), Harold van der Heijden (drums), Frank Dorittke (FD Project, guitar) and (new friend) Jamie O’Callaghan (electric violin and synthesizers) played at a concert in the planetarium of the German city Bochum. This music is somewhat more “spacey” than we are accustomed of by Ron. The theme of the album is 2012, the year we are living in and the year in which (according the Mayans and Nostradamus) the end of the world will come.
With “Ante Oculos” Ron proves that is also very well at home in spacemusic. The album asks for more concerts in a special place like a planetarium. Ron remains the best and most important electronic musician from the Netherlands.

"By Popular Demand" is a CD of live performances by Ron Boots, Eric van der Heijden and friends. The friends are Gerald Vos, Harold van der Heijden, Ad van Gerwen, Bas Broekhuis, Ingrid Lohuis and Klaus Hoffman Hoock. Some of the selections feature Ron's penchant for live synth trios, others feature synth duets and percussion. The highlight is the cosmic and ethereal "Through Mental Doors." That piece features narration by Louise, Harold's masterful drumming, a synth trio of Ron, Eric and Ad and Ad and Ron on didjeridu! It is one of the wildest outer space rides imaginable! The massive soundscape is carried by some wild sci-fi manipulations and some overblown sequences. Ron's didg drone sets it up and a synth drone takes it home. The whole album sparkles with energy and giddy zeal.