Take 5 Jazz – Your weekly source of Jazz

The latest show:

program no. 1327

The Tenor Team, track from the new release on O.A.P. Records “Live at De Witte” recorded November 21^st 2025 with Stan van de Wetering & Floriaan Wempe: tenor saxes, Jasper Sofffers; piano, Hans Mantel; bass, Gijs Dijkhuizen: drums
Tenor saxophonist Sonny Rollins, track from “Live at the Doelen” recorded October 11^th 1981 with Bill O’ Connell: piano, Yoshiaki Masuo: guitar, Thomas Palmer: bass, Tommy Campbell: drums
Vibraphonist & timbales Tito Puente, track from “Live in France” recorded august 8^th 1995 with Mario Rivera: tenor sax, Sonny Bravo: piano, Jose Maderas: congas
Composer/ arranger Gabriele di Franco, track from the cd “The Value of Choices” recorded in 2025
Tenor saxophonist Tommy Smith, track from “Four” release on Spartacus Records recorded in 1999 with Steve Hamilton: piano, Orlando Le Fleming: bass, Sebastiaan de Krom: drums
The Ben Webster special, track 381/520 this week Ben’s lp “Music with Feeling” recorded September 9^th 1955
Pianist Tommy Flanagan, track from the new release on Livia Records “Made in Dublin” recorded august 1984 with Lindsey Horner: bass, John Wadham: drums
Tenor saxophonist Tubby Hayes, track from the cd “Dancing in the Dark” recorded February 12^th 1964 with Jimmy Deuchar: trumpet, Terry Shannon: piano, Freddie Logan: bass, Allan Ganley: drums
Second track from the new cd “Tenor Team” info track 1!!

About Take 5 Jazz

In the weekly show of Take 5 Jazz I will take you into the great world of Jazz. Beyond the mainstream and well known recordings, my show is an entrance to the vast range of all the various styles within the genre, such as Bebop, West Coast jazz, and most notable: Latin. Jazz music knows many faces: from the old American Jazz standards to the British scene, and from big bands to Cool Jazz; ranging from the oldest to the most recent of recordings, every week some of the finest from my collection will be played.

One of my aims is present something unknown every week; to give some airplay to those musicians to whom people pay too little attention to, as well as providing rare recordings of well-known musicians. Take 5 Jazz offers a blend of the familiar and unfamiliar, mostly jazz and sometimes a bit of blues, but always with the intent to find something new and interesting.

Jan Klein, the man behind Take 5 Jazz

An article in a Dutch newspaper, marking the 300th show of Take 5 Jazz.
(Click to enlarge)

Back in 1997 people, who knew about my passion for Jazz, asked me to start a radio show at a local radio station. Rather than generic pop music usually aired, this new show, Take 5, offered the best Jazz and Blues that was within my ever-expanding collection.

My collection spans a great number of LPs and CDs, and started in the early seventies. At the time, as a little boy, I bought my first LP: Cal Tjader’s Latin Kick. This marked the beginning of my love for the genre. The quality of his sound and the quality of performance drew me to Ben Webster. Ben, like Cal, is one of the cornerstones of my collection.

For several years I aired this music, but times change. Progressing from a small local radio station to the World Wide Web, I became fully independent. Now I am able to share my love for the music with an audience from all over the world!

For over forty years after I collected every known recording that Cal Tjader produced, making me one of the few in the world who managed to complete the entire discography of Cal. The combination of Jazz and Latin was what started my love for Jazz, and thus it was something I wanted to give special attention in my show. From October 14, 2002, to July 31, 2018, I aired my entire collection: one track a week, every week. It was a monumental task, and I am proud that I managed to complete it.

Once I reached the end of my Cal Tjader special, I had to switch to a different musician. A poll amongst my listeners finalized my decision: for 520 weeks in a row there will be at least one track of Ben Webster in my show!

Cal Tjader and Ben Webster are but two examples of the musicians that I count amongst my favourites. The long and wonderful history of the Jazz genre has brought forth many musical geniuses. And while Jazz might originate from the United States, those gifted in the art of music are born all over the world. The jazz scene in Britain, for instance, featured artists such as Tubby Hayes and Phil Seamen. And for me, hailing from Holland, there are many ‘local’ musicians whom I admire, whose albums I collected. The most notable of these are Jan Akkerman and Rob Franken.

For a more expansive summary of the musicians whose music I appreciate, click here.

A few years ago I picked up a hobby. Next to my big love for listening to jazz music, and sharing this passion through my show Take 5 Jazz, I’ve started painting.

Please take a look on this page, where I share some of my paintings.