Bimhuis

Amsterdam, Netherlands

The Bimhuis provides a perspective on Dutch and international music in over 250 concerts annually, in which a variety of jazz and improvised music can be enjoyed. The focus is on new developements, but the Bimhuis also offers a significant selection of more mainstream music.

Branford is unsparing in his enthusiasm for the Amsterdam club, which has been a center for jazz in Europe since it opened in 1973. 'I only played there once before, with Art Blakey in 1981, and I've wanted to bring my own band into the Bimhuis ever since,' he admits. 'It's simply one of the two or three best jazz clubs in the world, because the room is intimate and the focus is on presenting the music instead of selling food and drinks. There is a bar outside of the performance space, and people do go there to hang, but once they walk into the club itself, it's all about the music.' (Branford Marsalis, www.marsalismusic.com, liner notes DVD 'A Love Supreme Live In Amsterdam', recorded at the Bimhuis on March 30, 2003)

'Ask jazz guitarist Bill Frisell, a seasoned road veteran, where in the world he would send music aficionados, and he brightens at the challenge: 'Anywhere in the world? Even if I didn't know who was playing? The Bimhuis (pronounce: bim‐house)', he volunteers at once, naming the Amsterdam venue that has played a crucial role in that city's creative music evolution (…)'. (The New Yorker, February 2003).

Bimhuis activities are supported by the Ministerie of OCW and the City of Amsterdam.