A very belated Happy New Year and to kick things off in an up-beat mood (despite what’s going on in Washington today) our Chosen One comes from veteran Dutch-Surinamese multi-instrumentalist Ronald Snijders. Ronald released four super-rare albums in the late 70s and early 80s and is back in the studio as a leader for the first time forty years later courtesy of the fine folks at direct to disc label Night Dreamer. It’s Snijders flute playing that’s in focus here and he glides and swoops his way through a landscape of tunes that draw on latin, Brazilian and Surinamese influences. Accompanied by a European band this set is, to be honest, a pretty straight up jazz-fusion record, but whereas that might make it sound bland it’s actually uplifting and a great listen. Which is what January demands!
Although both Snijders and his father ( also an acclaimed orchestra leader and composer) have been knighted for their services to music in the Netherlands, with Ronald receiving the country’s most prestigious jazz award, The Boy Edgar Prize, in 2022, his work has been largely obscured to the international jazz audiences. Penta may go some way to address that especially as, if I’m not mistaken, Night Dreamer are also re-releasing some of Ronald’s back-catalogue.
This is our Album Of The Week on One Jazz w/c Monday 20th January 2025