This year, the leading musical festival North Sea Jazz is celebrating its 50th anniversary. On the occasion of this landmark, Kunsthal Rotterdam is collaborating with North Sea Jazz and main partner Nationale-Nederlanden to present the exhibition 50 Years of North Sea Jazz Photography. From 5 September, work by photographers Paul Bergen, Rico D'Rozario, and Andreas Terlaak, who have been capturing the festival throughout the years, will be shown in the Kunsthal’s Hall 7.
This past summer, Her Majesty Queen Máxima opened the anniversary edition of NN North Sea Jazz Festival, which was held at Ahoy Rotterdam on 10, 11, and 12 July. Fifty years ago, the first edition took place at the Nederlands Congresgebouw in The Hague. The opening statistics: six concert halls, three hundred musician, and nine thousand visitors. The festival has since evolved into a major international event. It is renowned for its programme featuring the biggest names in jazz history, including Miles Davis, Sonny Rollins, Herbie Hancock and Wynton Marsalis, as well as famous soul and blues artists like James Brown, Ray Charles, Prince, Erykah Badu, Alicia Keys, and B.B. King.
New talent
The festival furthermore offers new talent a platform. Artists who later made a name for themselves, such as Roy Hargrove, Jacob Collier, Ibrahim Maalouf, Gregory Porter, and Amy Winehouse, all made their festival debut at North Sea Jazz, performing in one of the festival’s many smaller concert venues at the beginning of their careers. Adele and D'Angelo also made their festival debuts at North Sea Jazz. The presentation 50 Years of North Sea Jazz Photography transports Kunsthal visitors to the festival with behind-the-scenes images and photographs of iconic performances.
Paul Bergen
Starting out as a general press photographer, Paul Bergen (1957) has been one of the best-known Dutch music photographers for decades now. He is best-known for his live photographs and artist’s portraits. Major pop and rock stars like Nirvana, David Bowie, The Rolling Stones, and U2 have all appeared in front of his lens, as well as jazz artists like Herbie Hancock and Sonny Rollins. His work has been published in various newspapers and magazines, and was also featured in TV documentaries. He also works for the ANP press agency. Bergen published various photobooks, including Nineties Spirit and Zero's Heroes.
Rico D’Rozario
Rico D'Rozario (1944) started out as a musician, but then realised he had more talent behind the lens than behind the drums. He won awards for his work on several occasions, for instance winning the Siver Camera’s Portrait Prize on two occasions. Major musical stars have appeared in front of his camera, from Mick Jagger and Miles Davis to Prince and Beyoncé. He has worked for various journals, including pop magazine OOR, published multiple photo books, and shot images for hundreds of record and cd covers.
Andreas Terlaak
After completing his studies, Andreas Terlaak (1976) decided to combine his talent in this field with his great passion for music to become a concert photographer. He captured numerous live concerts and experienced many highlights throughout his career. For many years, he was Neil Diamond’s regular tour photographer and also worked with Prince during his shows at Amsterdam’s Paradiso. Later on in his career he extended his sphere of activity to include Formula 1 and dance. His work is frequently published in the newspaper NRC and by the concert organisation MOJO. Terlaak won the Silver Camera’s first prize on two occasions: for his photographs of Amy Winehouse and of the dance company Conny Janssen Danst.
Collaboration
The exhibition is realised in collaboration with North Sea Jazz and Nationale-Nederlanden, main partner of Kunsthal Rotterdam and of NN North Sea Jazz Festival.
For the press
