Dutch musical talent deserves an international audience

Like many others I saw Kyteman for the first time on DWDD, a Dutch television show, where another guest, sidekick Jan Mulder nearly got him into tears, talking about a lost love. But apart from the very honest interview, rare enough at itself, I saw a performance of somebody who succeeded in finding something completely new. A huge achievement, knowing that the music industry mainly varies a tiny bit on whatever is fashion at the time, only interrupted by revivals or comebacks.

Not Kyteman. Colin Benders sat on his own (hence the title: The Hermit Sessions) and produced an album, a task that took him over three years. My first thought was Spinvis, another Dutch artist who did so a few years ago and also managed to surprise the world with a great album. Then I saw Colin and unfortunately for him, he resembled a would be rapper. Luckily this turned out to be wrong, he is the genuine kind. Hiphop combined with an orchestra, the description was. I remembered that night, years ago, when, channelflipping I arrived at MTV and discoverd Guru's Jazzmattaz. I had never seen anything like it. Jazz combined with rap! But it touched base with me, the concert a few years later in Paradiso Amsterdam by Guru with his extended band, still is one of the best I have seen in that place.

And then Kyteman performed. Like some conductor he stood in front of a group musicians gathered from several places, mostly from bands with which he performed when he was still only playing the trumpet. But he resembles nothing like a conductor. Watching him, you get the impression he does the moves he practised in front of the television, when his parents went away for an evening out and left their son home for the first time without a babysitter. Watch Gangstarrap on some show and see if you can copy the moves. Yet I immediately notice one difference. Where most rappers seem to care more about image than about music, Kyteman is completely lost in his own music. He needed twenty friends to perform the music he had put on a CD all by himself. He the trumpetplayer from the past, was his one man orchestra.

Completely justified was the Dutch media hype. Early morning radio with the most popular diskjockey. Early evening the television show with the highest rates. In the meantime interviews with all major newspapers and positive reviews by everyone whose opinion counts. Today I discovered a complete concert online at 3voor12. First thing that draws my attention is the fun the musicians seem to have. A rapper who seems to talk French as fast as MC Solaar, violists who seem to have originated from a classical education, though not to big to sing along in the background when necessary. One day I saw Mano Negra perform in Groningen. I have a VHS tape, nearly half an hour from a concert in Münich during the same tour. Uninhibited enthosiasm, everyone seems happy and honored to be playing their music on a stage. During this concert at DeSmet in Amsterdam I notice the very same enthusiasm with the twenty musicians performing Kyteman's music. His concerts have been sold out for a while already, even though his album was only released last week.

I hope Kyteman knows how to cope with pressure. Not an easy task for a young man of only 22 summers. But someone who manages to combine Miles Davis, Mano Negra, GangStarr and Elvis Costello can only be classified as a huge megatalent. I for one will certainly order his album.