Eighteen is the official age of adulthood in the Netherlands. In theory it’s the perfect time for a look back. But this isn’t an anniversary album. In a way, ‘Eighteen’ continues from where their 2008 album, ‘Out of Office’, left off. So perhaps they are looking back in one sense.
Formed in 1994, when saxophonist Benjamin Herman began playing live with DJ Graham B in an Amsterdam nightclub, they eventually evolved into the 8-piece New Cool Collective, and sometimes up to a 19-piece Big Band.
They have won many awards and have toured extensively in Benelux, Great Britain, Germany, Africa, Canada, Russia and Japan - playing venues from hip jazz clubs to huge pop and rock festivals. They appeared in 2010 at London’s Jazz Cafe, to great acclaim.
They have collaborated with musicians such as with Kenya’s Mapacha Africa, Cuba’s Los Papines and Nigeria’s Tony Allen, the drummer who with Fela Kuti became the pioneer of Afrobeat.
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