Piet Noordijk, 1932-2011(2)
Saturday, December 6th, 2025, 8:00 PM – Behind the Dikes.
For altoist Piet Noordijk, Charlie Parker was the undisputed number one. But Parker had to share that place of honor with… Frank Sinatra! Volkskrant journalist Frank van Herk certainly didn’t anticipate that comparison in his 1997 interview with Noordijk. Noordijk: “What is number one in jazz music? Timing, exactly. There are very few jazz musicians with Frank Sinatra’s timing.”
After studying clarinet at the Rotterdam Conservatory in the 1950s, which he completed with honors, Noordijk played in nightclubs and the Hilversum broadcasting studios, among other places. He is lead altoist with orchestras such as the Skymasters, the Metropole Orchestra, and the Boy’s Big Band. In the mid-1960s, he fronted the renowned Misha Mengelberg/Piet Noordijk Quartet, which became one of the most talked-about combos in Dutch jazz history. He played with some of the greatest Americans: Ben Webster, Nina Simone, Dexter Gordon, and Wynton Marsalis. The string of collaborations is endless, the list of albums and CD recordings infinite.
A comprehensive article about the Mengelberg/Noordijk Quartet, written by Ben Zwanink (also the author of this News Report), appeared in Jazz Bulletin magazine. From it, the following quote about Noordijk: “Piet is an over-energetic, high-voltage bop alto player with an unerring intuition for constructing long solos. His musical flow of ideas can be traced back to a familiar bebop source, but this never leads to a string of standardized formulas. Speaking a dynamic musical language, he always tells his own story, never the same thing twice.”
Playlist:
Album: A Tribute To Rogier
I Remember Rogier
Why Do I Love You
Piet Salto
Album: New Quintet
What Is This Thing Called Love
Goodbye Frankie And Johnny
Album: Pete’s Groove
Pete’s Groove
Pete’s Hit
In 2007, alto saxophonist Piet Noordijk celebrated both his seventy-fifth and sixtieth birthdays at the BIMhuis in Amsterdam. Noordijk celebrated this joyous occasion with his bands Pete’s Groove, the Misha Mengelberg/Piet Noordijk Quartet, and the Piet Noordijk Boptet. Top Dutch jazz musicians, including Jack van Poll, Martijn van Iterson, Misha Mengelberg, Ruud Jacobs, Han Bennink, and Rik Mol, joined him on stage. (AD)
Album: Jubilee concert: Live at the Bimhuis Amsterdam
Ballad Medley (Mona Lisa – You Don’t Know What Love Is – But Beautiful – Embraceable You) ————————————————
For more information, see De Gids. This is the second—and final—programme about Piet Noordijk. Klik for the first programme.
Behind the Dikes – Hajé Nordbeck
