‘Energetic Now Jazz ‘ | Interview with Bob Hoving Quintet

Upbeat jazz, an intense groove and endless elaborate improvisations. Meet Bob Hoving in our interview below.

Describe your sound in three words please! 

Energetic Now Jazz 

What is the biggest challenge of leading a Quintet? Tell us a few things about  your creative process. 

The musicians in this quintet are very busy most of the time. We cannot just live from doing one project, so often it’s hard to book rehearsals and gigs. But it’s totally worth it when your on stage! 

For me the creative process has two stages, one being individual writing the music on my own and the other is going through the music with the band and seeing how  stuff works in practice. After that last stage I usually re-write some stuff to eventually get to the final version. This way I feel that the sound of the music is closest to what I hear in my head without losing the sense of interaction within the tunes. 

Following the previous question, is there a place for democracy in a band?  

There definitely is! I love it when the gang shares their ideas with the rest of the group. The band consists of close friends of whom two I even share a house with, so we’re used to giving each other second opinions, tips and other advice and we see it as a great resource. 

Jazz music as a genre has been accused as music for snobs. Is jazz music elitist? 

It has been indeed, but I personally think that that’s just a matter of perspective. When I listen to for example a concert streamed from the Village Vanguard usually the music goes in many directions at the same time without really giving the unaccustomed audience a hint of what to look for or feel. It’s open for interpretation! I think a lot of people feel the need to understand what they hear, rather than just embrace the sound and interaction you hear from the stage. When people call jazz musicians snobs or elitist I think it’s just because it’s not part of  their diet. If you want to change your diet, you have to get used to new and unfamiliar flavors. Do as you will! 

What is your favorite album of the past year?  

That’s a hard question! It really depends on what mood I’m in. If I’d have to name the record that came to my mind first, it would be Y-OTIS 2 from Otis Sandsjö.  It’s super expressive and really speaks, to me combined with the fact that his  compositions are catchy and intriguing. 


I would love it if there would be more funds and resources for the music industry. All around me I see a huge amount of talent but limited resources to facilitate all this potential.  

If there would be more funds I think it would become easier to get in touch with Jazz music, which on its turn, might get rid of the elitist or snobby assumptions made towards Jazz. 

What was the best film you have watched during the quarantine?  

I really “enjoyed” The Lighthouse. It’s an exceptionally gloomy, dark and moody movie (which I like) starring William Dafoe and Robert Pattinson. It’s about a lighthouse somewhere in the middle of the ocean completely isolated from society. The two characters are heavily influenced by each other and go pretty much mad. In other words: A great movie during quarantine! 

One last thing we should know about you?  

If you happen to be in the Netherlands on the 14th of July, I’ll be doing a release concert for the upcoming EP in a venue called CINETOL. I’d be happy to share  some music with people in real life again so do come over!  

Also: I have a cat called Mimi and she’s a real diva.

Thanks Bob!

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