Blue Cat (Rob Catlender)

Jerry van Rooyen was one of  the best big band arrangers I knew. He worked as a leader with several big bands like the famous dutch Metropole Orkest, the german WDR big band and the Dutch Jazz Orchestra. He was a very inspiring man and I was lucky to get some lessons from him back in the eighties.

He passed away in 2009 at the age of 80. I wrote this ballad for him and asked Ack van Rooyen, his famous brother and fluegelhornplayer to perform it at a big band festival in the Dutch town Brielle. He playes it with the Utrechts Jazz Orkest directed by Konrad Kosseleck. The performance and recording is rather poor so we have to do with a version played by computer-samples.  With no emotions but with correct chords and lines.

I hope to have real life-audio ready soon.

Level: intermediate