The Ramblers

The Ramblers - Dutch jazz group, played with Coleman Hawkins et al.

Group from Netherlands

Genres: All, Surf, oldies, Rock and Roll, Home collection

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About The Ramblers

There have been many different groups called The Ramblers, such as... 1. a Dutch jazz band and jazz orchestra (1926-1964, new incarnations to this day!) 2. a Chilean CL R&B combo of the 1960s 3. a French garage rock revival band from Avignon, active in the 1980s and 1990s 4. an American, New York-based Americana band led by Jeremiah Birnbaum 5. an American, Los Angeles-based country band 6. a British children's pop group (1978-1980) 7. a British punk-style band from Ampthill, Bedfordshire Additional information... 1. Fronted by Theo Uden Masman, The Ramblers were (or still are) a Dutch jazz band and dance orchestra, who extremely popular in The Netherlands from the 1920s to the 1950s, performing dixieland, swing and jazz sounds popular in the era, often with Dutch lyrics. Initially the resident cabaret orchestra of the music club La Gaîté in Amsterdam, The Ramblers were the house orchestra of the VARA broadcasting organization for many years. Pretty much every Dutch person knew them at the time, because of their performances on the radio. Their star faded in the late 1950s and early 1960s, due to the arrival of rock 'n roll and beat music on Dutch shores. The Ramblers' final radio performance was in 1964. The orchestra called it a day and its leader, Theo Uden Masman (1901-1965), died less than a year later. To this day Ramblers 'purists' claim that The Ramblers existed from 1926 to 1964 - and that all later incarnations should be regarded as imitations. The original lineup was: Theo Uden Masman (piano), Louis de Vries, (trumpet); Jan Gluhoff, (clarinet and saxophone); Gerard Spruyt, (trombone), Jacques Pet, (banjo); Kees Kranenburg, (drums) and Jack de Vries, (sousafoon). 1928 saw the vocalist, alto saxophone and clarinet player Wim Poppink join. He is best remembered for his vocals in Wie is Loesje, Dag schatteboutje and Weet je nog wel, two of The Ramblers' greatest classics. 1928 also saw the trumpeter and vocalist Eddy Meenk join which resulted in two subsequent English language period hits for The Ramblers, Business in Q and Music in my Fingers. 1933 saw the singer and trombonist Marcel Thielemans join. 1933 also marked the first of more than 2000 V.A.R.A. radio-concert broadcasts and another trip to London for the BBC. The word was spreading and in 1934 [artist/]Freddy Johnson sang and recorded Zuiderzee Blues with The Ramblers, which was also issued under the anglicized name of Zuyderzee Blues on '78. In 1935 the lyricist Jack Bulterman joined and The Ramblers used his Nederlandstalige songs Wie is Loesje, Het proces van Pietertje Swing, Meneer de baron is niet thuis, De Ramblers gaan naar Artis (Paul Roda) and Weet je nog wel die avond in de regen. 1937 heralded the saxophonist and violinist Sal Doof and trumpeter and violist Sem Nijveen joining. Both were to feature in the recordings of The Ramblers when Coleman Hawkins played with the band. He had left the Netherlands by the time Germany invaded on May 10, 1940. During the wartime German occupation of the Netherlands, The Ramblers continued to play concerts and broadcast, but via the German amalgamated Nederlandsche Omroep, which they controlled. In 1941 the Jewish musicians Sem Nijveen and Sal Doof were expelled by the regime who also dictated that the Anglo sounding name of the band be changed to 'Theo Uden Masman en zijn Dansorkest'. Sal Doof was caught, deported, interned in Sobibor and murdered but Sem Nijveen was hidden and supported by Theo Uden Masman in his home. In 1944 upon the liberation of Belgium, where the band were then playing, a further name change took place in honour of the liberating US Army. However Kees Kranenburg had to take the helm when they returned to a liberated Holland because Theo Uden Masman was deemed to have collaborated with the Germans due to the broadcasts and concerts they gave in front of Germans. In 1947 Jack Bulterman left the band to become a music producer, but the band's renewed popularity overcame these and wartime issues and The Ramblers were soon back in favour. 1948 saw Sem Nijveen leave The Ramblers to join the Metropole Orkest. Joint-ventures with Rotterdams Philharmonisch Orkest and fresh talent such as Charlie Nederpelt in 1954 assured their success well into the late 1950s. However, by the early 1960s popular tastes had changed and on 11 April 1964 Theo Uden Masman conducted the last of The Ramblers' TV broadcasts for the VARA. Some of the band members stayed on with the VARA as the VARA Dansorkest, led by Charlie Nederpelt. The VARA could not use the name The Ramblers because of its close association with Theo Uden Masman, so the company renamed the band after itself. A new incarnation of The Ramblers appeared in 1974, using the original name, with some older members taking the lead, recruiting many younger musicians along the way. Their original swing sound underwent 'modernization' as they included more modern and big band style jazz in their repertoire. In 1992, The Guinness Book of Records certified The Ramblers to be the world's oldest dance orchestra.

Taken from Last.fm

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