Paul Heller Invites: Tribute to Ack van Rooyen

Ack van Rooyen (1930-2021) was a musician of world renown, a unique virtuoso, ennobled by natural noblesse and unpretentious elegance. When he celebrated his 90th birthday, Andy Haderer, lead trumpeter of the WDR Big Band, enthused: "For me, there is no one who can tell such beautiful stories on his flugelhorn as Ack van Rooyen." With his filigree playing, van Rooyen has set highlights for renowned entertainment orchestras as well as innovative jazz ensembles between bebop and rock, big band and quintet. Ack van Rooyen was an ideal example of the openness in jazz that connects people across generations.

Ack van Rooyen and Paul Heller also shared a decades-long musical and human friendship, which was particularly evident in their joint quintet. In this respect, it was only logical that van Rooyen became the first guest of Paul Heller's then new concert series in September 2013. And now, more than a decade later, Heller is inviting other former companions of van Rooyen to a tribute concert: Paying tribute to a unique musician, his virtuosity and his artistry.

Three flugelhorn players and trumpeters come together to celebrate Ack van Rooyen: Andy Haderer, Ruud Breuls and Claus Reichstaller. They were all influenced, guided, shaped and possibly seduced by Ack van Rooyen in their own personal and musical way. With Hubert Nuss, Ingmar Heller and Hans Dekker, three more of Paul Heller's comrades-in-arms, who played with him and Ack van Rooyen for many years, have accepted the invitation. What all these musicians have in common: Each of them carries that very special spark that brings them artistically close to Ack van Rooyen, that typical and unmistakable "van Ackeren sound", characterized by euphony, warmth and gentle melancholy - moments of timeless beauty.