World of Jazz, the new online radio channel from the Concertzender, starts on April 30. Here you can listen to jazz and world music in all its diversity, 24 hours a day. The new channel works closely with the Dutch jazz and world music sectors and keeps you informed about to the latest news, showcases young talent and broadcasts live performances.
Arjan Went, the new programme leader, is now busy with the preparations for this new channel. “World of Jazz will be a great station, and with the programming we hope to reach many listeners, especially the younger generations. World of Jazz features both accessible programmes and programmes that completely explore a niche. We offer listeners a broad palette that also includes music that has a smaller audience.”
Concertzender and World of Jazz
A lot of jazz music can already be heard on the Concertzender and this will continue to be the case. Jazz and related styles are disappearing from the public domain and we want to ensure that listeners can continue to hear the richness and diversity of this music. Our objective is to protect this music. Went: “We are therefore developing new programmes for World of Jazz that complement the jazz and world music programmes on the Concertzender. For example, a programme about Progressive Jazz or a programme that puts the role of women in jazz in the spotlight. Offering a stage for young talent and sharing live culture are also important priorities for us.”
“Our programme makers are both true enthusiasts and experienced professionals who are specialists in a specific genre and who take the listener into the beauty and diversity that jazz and world music have to offer. It is a privelege to work with programme makers who want to share their knowledge. I keep discovering music that was unknown to me. This applies to jazz, but even more so to world music. The Concertzender already has programmes that focus on music from specific countries, such as Indian Ragas, African jazz and Brazilian Bossanova. World music is not an easy term. We don’t really want to define it, but in our view it is certainly not just music from outside Europe, we also include Flamenco, Balkan or Fado. It is a journey of discovery that is virtually endless.”
“The Concertzender is also the perfect stage for live music. We are already recording many concerts that can be heard on World of Jazz and want to expand this in the near future. in addition, a grand piano has recently been installed in our studio. This offers the opportunity to also stage live performances in the studio. Think of something like the Tiny Desk Concerts on the American public radio NPR where big names give a performance in a small setting. “In any case, we are going to offer a new stage to the music that many more people need to hear!”
Arjan Went
Arjan’s whole life is saturated with jazz. His father, a gifted amateur musician, had a home practice as a dentist and had many jazz musicians as patients. The house was full of live jam sessions. “While studying biology, I started working part-time in a CD store specializing in jazz. I liked this so much that when this store went bankrupt, I started a specialist jazz store (De Jazzwinkel) in Utrecht together with my partner, Etienne de Smet. In addition to the store, we organised many concerts and I got more and more jobs as a DJ. I started working in radio when downloads increased and it became difficult to keep the store afloat.” He ended up at Radio 6 and the Wereldomroep. There he developed a passion for radio making. “I made programmes with Edwin Rutten for Radio 6 for many years, which was always a pleasure!” But unfortunately, these stations were subject to cut-backs, and later on the same thing happended to the theme channel with which he was still involved. Because of all that uncertainty, he ultimately chose a different path and started retraining as a maths teacher.
World of Jazz comes at the perfect time. “I have now almost completed my studies, so time has become available again to work with music and radio. This combination is perfect for me, and with the security provided by my teaching job, I am now much freer to let my love for music flow again.” As programme leader for the new channel, he can fully express his great love for both genres. “The recent history of jazz on the public channels shows how vulnerable this medium is. We did have Radio 6 for a while, but that was a relatively short period. You see that jazz and world music have become a neglected child. The Concertzender is run as a foundation and does not have to make compromises to meet commercial demands. That is why we can start a completely new radio station dedicated to this music.”
The Concertzender has been broadcasting radio programmes and concert recordings for almost 40 years, without advertising, featuring jazz, classical, contemporary, world, early music, electronic, experimental, opera and all the mixtures of these genres that you can imagine. After successfully splitting from the NPO in 2009, it has since grown into an interactive platform for music that is either well known or sadly neglected and made by both established musicians and emerging talent. This success is due to the efforts of the musicologists, presenters, technicians, programme makers and producers associated with the channel.
