HISTORY 10 Years TB4Q
The early years:
Over the years the band has evolved. It has been a musical trainride on which some got on the train, some jumped off and some stayed, but the train kept rollin'. It all started back in 2000 when friends for life J.B. and Bird were looking for people to form a 'little big band'. At a jamsession at the New Orleans Jazz Festival in Stuttgart they found their missing bandmembers in Hein Koop for vocals and piano and Pascal Schepers on drums.
Their mix of fifties blues, rock'n'roll and swing put them on the big stage of the reknown Belgium Rhythm'n'Blues Festival in the very first year of existence.
First Change:
Having lots of succes with this formula, the first change was to come in 2002. Drummer Pascal decided to focus on his family and a worthy subsitute was found in Franky Gomez, at that time drummer for the legendary bluesband The Harmony Two Tones. Adding Franky to the band meant more drive and swing for the band. The number of shows kept growing as well as the region which was covered: Belgium was no longer the only playground but also Germany and Holland were conquered.
Start Recording:
In 2003 the band went to Cologne for the first recordings. Adding previous demotracks to new recorded material the first CD was a fact: "Four Strikes You Out" was a mix of some own compositions and covers from the likes of Sam Butera, Willis Jackson and Illinois Jaqcuet. High energy swing and rock'n'roll. Some songs on the record could need a guitar so Mo, Franky's brother and also member of The Harmony Two Tones was brought in, never to leave the band thereafter. That summer the band played one of their most memorable shows. At the celebrations for the King of Belgium The Big Four entertained a crowd of 15.000 members of the Blue Angels motorcycle club and the King himself as they gathered for a tour through Brussels. The set was closed with a 45-minute (!) version of Stanley Turrentines 'Troubles'. The band had found a good formula and quickly gained a lot of shows and fans. The stages they played were as diverse as their music, bringing them to either jazz-, blues-, or rockabillyfestivals. As a result, in 2004 they were invited to the Summer Jamboree in Italy.
A new beginning:
Just a few weeks before the 'Italian Job' at the Summer Jamboree, founding father Hein Koop decided to quit the band. He could no longer combine his work, personal life and other bands (e.g. The Swamptones) so he had to make choices. The band now had to look for a new pianoplayer and a new way for the vocal parts. Dr. Basie was the new kid. His experience in such diverse bands as Texan Tail, The Wild Specialties and Soulradio among others added whole new perspectives to the band.
It became clear that all members at that time (being the final to date: J.B., Bird, Basie, Mo and Franky) had a much wider taste in music than was played to that date. J.B. had always been influenced on saxophone not just by honkers and rockers, but also by pure jazzcats like John Coltrane and Rashaan Roland Kirk. The repertoire of The Big Four just hadn't been suitable to mix in these styles. While searching and determining a new path, the band found out that these influences could now be brought in very well.. It marked the shift to a new Big Four.
From The Big Four to TB4Q:
Doing some 50 shows annualy in the new setting, a new style evolved within the band: The roots of blues, sixties soul, jazz and swing were never left, but the boundaries were actively explored. This culminated in the 2008 album "The Congregation Sessions". This album was a turning point in the sense that it made clear to the band as well as it's folllowers that a new course was set. The motto: Everything is possible. Mix up some Sam Butera and Jimmy McCracklin rock'n'roll, Coltrane-like intstrumentals, a Les McCann-adaptation, tasteful loungegrooves and a barking dog and still sound like one band. The unanimously positive reviews and appreciation of the audiences proved it was a good choice to broaden the perspectives.
In the meanwhile the shows kept coming all across Europe, taking the band to Holland, Belgium, Germany, United Kingdom, France, Germany, Switzerland and Spain. In Spain the band met and played with american saxophone-legend Big Jay McNeely for a crowd of 5000 in the middle of the night after having Percy Sledge as opening act...
Going international proved another, unexpected aspect of the band: Many people still thought of the Big Four as just four people. However, The Big Four reflects a beat in New Orleans rhythm and not the number of people in the band.. As a result, on many occasions four hotelrooms were booked, four meals, four flight- or boattickets etc.. That fact, plus the sound of it made the band decide to add 'quintet' to the name. Not only would this make for more accurate bookings and meals, but it also makes for a better name for a jazz-band.
From past to present:
Coming from the 'little big band' The Big Four in 2000 to the eclectic jazz-roots band The Big Four Quintet in 2010 is quite an achievement. All band members had their own worries in their private lifes including divorces, broken pelvisses, shattered eardrums and the like, but the band remained a constant factor. In the band itself the world was turned upside down and inside out several times and all members both contributed and adapted to this change. In 2009 this evolotiun was captured on tape to become the latest album 'Sanctified'. Everything the band went through over the last 10 years can be found on this record, from the musical diversity to the sound of their own kids.DownBeat Magazine USA wrote "The Big Four Quintet succeeds in 'getting that feeling'.
The future:
At the moment TB4Q is working on several projects, including musicvideo's, a new album, touring and a series of small theater-shows. Of course you can always find the band playing somewhere live. And whenever they play, there's one thing that hasn't been changed in the last decade: It's a party!
BIO
TB4Q "Taking music wherever it wants to go"
Creative souls
J.B. “The Hurricane“ Biesmans: vocals, flute, all woodwinds
Bird Stevens: backing vocals, upright bass , Bird plays Tecamp & Velvet strings
Dr. Basie J.: vocals, all keys
Franky Gomez: backing vocals, drums, all kinds of noises
Mo Gomez: backing vocals, guitarras
The Big “Four” does not reflect the number of musicians in the band but refers to the characteristic second-line beat of New Orleans music. And that’s just a little hint for what to expect. TB4Q is generally rooted in New Orleans Also The knowledge of the jazz history allowed TB4Q to draw on many elements of the music's past, from ragtime to swing and free jazz ,free-style grooves and a lot of spontaneity and you’ll get TB4Q at full speed .
In 2008 The Big Four Quintet released their first album ‘The Congregation Session (TTR001) which was very well received by the international music press. For example: The American Jazz site All About Jazz wrote: “The band's The Congregation Sessions is a joy from start to finish …”OOR Magazine wrote: “A world class Killer-record”. The website Jazz and soul mentioned: “They would easily fit in on any Jazz event, Blues Festival, etc. The Big Four will be a band that will gain visibility and tons of fans in a very short time. Fantastic work.”. The album stayed in the top 10 of the OOR-Magazine/VPRO-Radio chart “De Moordlijst” for 10 weeks. Not bad considering this is a pop-chart …
“Okay, so maybe you’ve listened to ‘The Congregation Sessions’. That was what TB4Q was all about! .. sort of.. Because there is this darker, hidden, mysterious, almost postmodern–Creole side of TB4Q that was aching to find itself a way out. During live shows, people in the audience started to become aware of this inevitable new dimension to the music of the Big Four (Quintet). And with the new album, “Sanctified” the cat is out of the bag. All original, TB4Q are finally doing their own thing all the way.. We are going to take you by the hand. We are going to go for a little walk. We are going to show you what TB4Q is REALLY about. This new album is –essentially– a closer walk with TB4Q. A walk we want to take with YOU. Paradoxically in style with the New Orleans tradition, it is ‘A Closer Walk With Thee’…”
In recent years The Big Four Quintet (a.k.a. The Big Four) played on several Jazz ,Blues and R&R stages across Europe they even played a show for the King of Belgium.
So Break with convention book us or join us at our gigs to bust out of your safety zone like we do … TB4Q (The Big Four Quintet)
