Metropole Orkest & Ack van Rooyen - Then and Now (The Artistry of Ack & Jerry van Rooyen 1975-2020) (2021)

With the LPs counting set Then and Now - The Artistry of Ack & Jerry van Rooyen, the collaboration between the brothers Jerry and Ack van Rooyen and the Metropole Orchestra is celebrated. Flugelhorn player Ack, who recently received the Boy Edgar prize and was also knighted, thus receives the tribute he deserves. In addition, the Metropole Orchestra will also be celebrating its 75th anniversary this year.

The first collaboration between the brothers van Rooyen and the Metropole goes back to 1975 and for Ack, brother Jerry died in 2009, continued until August this year with a concert in TivoliVredenburg in Utrecht. Now that he has indeed put away his instrument, Ack is now 90 years old, this overview comes at a glorious moment.

It was Jerry’s composition Colores that was one of the first to be recorded with the Metropole, with Dolf van der Linden as conductor. Wonderful to hear it again and especially because it seems that a lot of recordings from that time have been lost somewhere along the way. Colores is a wonderfully ambitious and rich composition on which Ack takes up space as a soloist. Not surprising that after this fascinating acquaintance they continued to work together over the years.

Many of the early recordings took place with Dolf van de Linden as conductor, but it was also recorded with the later conductor Rogier van Otterloo. Much of the music heard here comes from radio shows Metro's Music, Metro's Midnight Music and The Bands which ran until 1995. The recordings, very well preserved, were previously released on the CDs Colores (1991) and Daydream (1999), which have been unavailable for some time.

It is striking how the recordings from 1975 (Colores) can easily be compared to those from 1985 and 1995 and both Ack and the Metropole always sound great. Listen how beautifully, comfortingly warm, they pick up that Billy Strayhorn / Duke Ellington composition Daydream and let Ack play his best game. My Ideal and Love Dance are also of extraordinary beauty. The subtle arrangements always give Ack plenty of room to show his fantastic playing, so that Jerry can then give the orchestra full throttle to lift the composition.

What wonderful compositions are Django (John Lewis), Jerry's That's Life (what a matchless arrangement that is!), I Wish I Knew (Harry Warren), When You're Smiling (Shay / Fisher / Goodwin) and a heartbreaking beautiful Sad To Say (Benny Golson), with a great Olah next to Ack, with those delightfully rich arrangements by Jerry after all. The Metropole grows with the arrangements and the playing of Ack to great heights; Dutch musicians to international heights.

The last two sides of the overview are therefore filled with the recordings that were made this year in TivoliVredenburg. Ack himself made the choice in compositions that were played there, in which he especially wanted to highlight the arrangements of his brother. How movingly beautiful it is in this As We Walk Hand in Hand with a still great playing Ack. On the beautiful album set-closing Dear Old Stockholm, a traditional Swedish folk song edited by Jerry, Ack himself is not even heard. Full glory to his brother and his beautiful arrangement.