Record producer Gerry Teekens has died

The founder in 1981 of the Netherlands-based Criss Cross records, Gerry Teekens, died at the age of 83 on the last day of October. Teekens was well known for his trips to the US to record at Rudy Van Gelder’s in New Jersey and in Brooklyn. His work …

Published: 7 Nov 2019. Updated: 3 years.

The founder in 1981 of the Netherlands-based Criss Cross records, Gerry Teekens, died at the age of 83 on the last day of October.

Teekens was well known for his trips to the US to record at Rudy Van Gelder’s in New Jersey and in Brooklyn. His work ethic was relentless and the label counted more than 400 titles in its catalogue. Criss Cross was firmly grounded in hard bop and styles derived from an essential bop or imaginatively swinging core and had a very pronounced and defined remit although Teekens was always willing to take on new cohorts of players to inject their own ideas shaped by his outlook on where the heart of jazz resides.

Read David R. Adler's piece on the WBGO site.

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track of the day: Yehlisan’uMoya (Spirit Come Down) by Nduduzo Makhathini

By South African pianist Nduduzo Makhathini whose record Modes of Communication: Letters from the Underworlds is to be released by Blue Note in 2020. ''The song,'' Blue Note says ''represents a search for the light of the ancestral realms and an …

Published: 7 Nov 2019. Updated: 3 years.

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By South African pianist Nduduzo Makhathini whose record Modes of Communication: Letters from the Underworlds is to be released by Blue Note in 2020. ''The song,'' Blue Note says ''represents a search for the light of the ancestral realms and an acknowledgement of a parallel existence between a world we see and those unseen.'' Nduduzo’s wife Omagugu Makhathini provides vocals on the track and alto saxophonist Logan Richardson, also on the Blue Note roster in recent years, is among the band personnel. Makhathini has recorded with Shabaka Hutchings as a member of Shabaka and the Ancestors.