Bass player and vocalist Henk de Laat studied with honours at the
Rotterdam Conservatory where he graduated as a master in jazz and
contemporary music in 1987. He completed his classical bass studies in
1988. Then he studied vocals with Deborah Brown and Ge Titulaer for
two years. Later he developed his voice with the aid of Henry Chef
d’Horge from Paris who taught him a natural and organic way of
singing.
He is currently in a vocal study program with Rhiannon,
teacher at the Berklee College of Music, Boston.
In 1980 Henk started his musical career with a band called X-tra,
playing ska-music. Later on he joined a group called Casino,
accompanying Dutch and artists from abroad. A versatile accompanist he
played with top-ranked vocalists such as Shirley Bassey, Deborah
Brown, Marjorie Barnes, Dee Daniels and with exquisite jazz
instrumentalists as Bob Minzer and Bob Malach.
For two years he toured
with Denise Jannah with whom he played among others at the North Sea
Jazz Festival in The Hague. He played with “La Corda”, a unique trio
with guitarplayers Peter Mingaars and Ben Boogaard.
In 1996 his first cd „But Beautiful“ was released. It contains jazz
standards and bossa nova tunes all for which he got a warm
recommendation by harmonica legend Toots Thielemans.
He composed for
several international theater companies and played with Mike Zinzen,
Walpurgis, Pieter Embrechts, Jokke Schreurs, Carlos Diaz, Sabien
Tiels, the Euro Trio featuring Dirk Van der Linden and Dirk Raufeisen,
and „Gezien, Gezegd en Gezongen“ featuring Yvonne Walter, Antje de
Boeck and Els Dottermans.
He also participated in a major theater
production from HETPALEIS called „Water, Lucht, Aarde en Vuur“ and
“Nachtmuziek” with trumpet player Sam Vloemans.
Nowadays he is active in his own projects the new Enrique Tarde group,
and the duo de Laat & Schreurs with pianist Dirk Schreurs.
Henk performs in a most personal and spontaneous way and uses both the
subtle expressive and unique qualities of the human voice. In other
words, he plays the way he sings and sings the way he plays. During
many journeys around the globe Henk has lost his musical heart in
Brasil, the culture of which has influenced his music in a remarkable
way. His new CD „Breaking through the shadows“ is a fine collection of
Brazilian inspired songs that were recorded in Belgium, The
Netherlands, Germany, and Italy.
SELECTED DISCOGRAPHY
(see top of page for main discography)
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But Beautiful - Henk Delaat (The Netherlands) EMI/Invitation Records
Fine Hours - Euro Trio (Germany)
Buenanmbo - Carlos Diaz (Argentina/Germany)
Wives and Lovers - Frits Bayens Big Band (The Netherlands)
Trio - Jokke Schreurs Trio (Belgium)
Carving up time - Robert jarvis (England)
Up on the snowy mountains - Hans Helewaut (Belgium)
Cormposiet -Diversen kunstenaarsproject (The Netherlands)
De Overkant - Sabien Tiels
Water,lucht, aarde en vuur - Sam Vloemans HETPALEIS
Nachtmuziek - Sam Vloemans HETPALEIS
Bord du Nord
Majar - Melike
Osama Abdulrasol
Flashes & Crashes - Mike Zinzen
Swinging in the Swamp - Ron van Stratum
Breaking through the Shadows - Enrique Tarde
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