REIN DE GRAAFF
Genres: Bop, Hard Bop, Cool Jazz • Netherlands

Born in Groningen, city in the north of The Netherlands, the 24th  October, 1942, raised in Veendam, Rein learned about jazz, thanks to the bunch of 78rpm records his grandfather bought when the war was over, to play on his new gramophone.  One of those records was Skyliner by Charlie Barnet, recorded in 1944.  The tune Skyliner would inspire Rein to play his first music on a plastic saxophone-toy-kazoo and later at a real Hohner harmonica, his grandmother bought for him. Early 1950s the piano was introduced in the house and Rein started to improvise, inspired by the music of Winifred Atwell. One of the first records Rein bought was the After School Blues played by the young  wonder boy of those days Sugar Chile Robinson. As a teenager Rein joined the school band of the Winkler Prins Lyceum, which played a kind of dixieland music, read more...