Take 5 Jazz

The latest show:

  • The C.T.I.  All Stars, track from “Live in L.A.” recorded july 19th 1971 with Freddie Hubbard: trumpet, Hubert Laws: flute, Hank Crawford: alto sax, Stanley Turrentine: tenor sax, Johnny “Hammond” Smith: organ, George Benson: guitar, Ron Carter: bass, Billy Cobham: drums, Airto: percussion
  • Tenor saxophonist Arnett Cobb, track from “Live in Rome” recorded may 10th 1986 with Calvin Owens: trumpet, Jimmy Ford: alto sax, Peter Cruch: piano, Clarence See: bass, Fukushi Tainaka: drums
  • Memories of Milt, track from ”Stockholm Koncert house” recorded march 17th 2000 with Bobby Hutcherson: vibes, Kenny Burrell: guitar, Hank Jones: piano, Ray Brown: bass, Mickey Roker: drums
  • Tenor saxophonist Klaus Doldinger, track from “70th Birthday Concert” recorded in Koln may 19th 2006 Klaus with Passport & WDR Big Band
  • Tenor saxophonist Sonny Stitt, track from the lp “My Mother’s Eyes” recorded in 1963 with Charles Kynard: organ, Ray Crawford: guitar, Doug Sides: drums
  • The Ben Webster special, track 376/520 this week Ben’s lp “See you at the Fair” recorded march 11th 1964 with Hank Jones: piano, Richard Davis: bass, Osie Johnson: drums
  • Alto saxophonist Eric Dolphy, track from “Last Date” recorded june 2nd 1964 with Misha Mengelberg: piano, Jacques Schols: bass, Han Bennink: drums
  • Guitarist Kazumi Watanabe, track from “Live in Tokyo” recorded september 5th 2010 with Warren Bernhardt: keyboards, Mike Mainieri: vibes, Marcus Miller: bass, Omar Hakim: drums
  • Singer Louise Alexandra, track from her cd “Crazy World of Love” recorded in 2025 with Rob van Bavel: piano, Vincent Koning: guitar, Frans van Geest: bass, Jan Menu: tenor sax
  • Bassist Jo Didderen with a track from “Toutes Directions” L’Equipe Lab recorded in 2025 with Marc Huynen: trumpet & flugelhorn, Tim Daemen: trombone, Rob Sijben; alto sax & flute, Bart Oostindie: guitars, Simon Oslender: piano, Johan de Haan: keyboards, Jerome Cardynaals: drums, Steffen Thormahlen: percussion
  • Tenor saxophonist Martijn “Tinez” van Toor, track from the cd “Soul Searchin’  recorded in 2025 with Evert Hoedt: baritone sax, Pascal Haverkate: trumpet, Elvis Sergo: Hammond organ, Andreas Tsikotis: drums
  • The Buddy Rich Big Band, track from the lp ”Big Swing Face” recorded febuary 25th 1967 at the Chez Club

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!

A painting given to me to celebrate my 500th show of Take 5 Jazz

In loving memory of 'the Swingmaster' Sem van Gelder

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.

Contact

Contact me either through one of the social media buttons on the top of the page, or use the form below to send me an e-mail.