Gear / In my own words
Every horn
has a story.
Some instruments are more than just tools. They carry memories and stories.
01 / FLUGELHORN
A flugelhorn
built for me.
My Van Laar OIRAM Fresu is one of those instruments — a flugelhorn built especially for me by Hub van Laar.
Not long before Ack van Rooyen passed away, I played a ballad for him on his own flugelhorn. I immediately fell in love with its sound. What I didn’t know was that Ack had suggested to Hub van Laar that he should build one for me.
At Ack’s funeral, Hub approached me, and that conversation eventually led to him building my own flugelhorn.
But the story took an unexpected turn.
Hub was putting the finishing touches on my instrument when he suddenly passed away. My flugelhorn was still sitting on his workbench. The instrument stayed at Van Laar for a while, as it was one of the last instruments Hub had worked on. Eventually, I was able to collect it. When I played it for the first time, there was a photograph of Ack in the background. A very special instrument!
Some instruments are more than just tools.
I’ve never been a particularly enthusiastic flugelhorn player, but this one is different. I absolutely love it. And knowing the story behind it makes it even more special.
02 / TRUMPET
The Van Laar 9.2
I love Van Laar instruments. They give me the freedom to colour the sound the way I want, and there are some exceptional craftspeople behind them, including Yannick Roijen.
For the past three years, the Van Laar 9.2 has been the trumpet I’ve used for everything, on stage and in the studio.
B7
I’d started to hear a different trumpet sound for my own projects. I wanted something I could play alongside my 9.2, particularly in small jazz groups and with my own band. Before visiting Van Laar with the Metropole Orkest trumpet section, I’d gone through the specs and shortlisted the Aquino, OIRAM Light, OIRAM IV, B3 and R3.
The B7 hadn’t even made my shortlist. I picked one up almost by chance, and my colleagues were the first to point out how well it suited me. I could hear why. It sat right between the sound I knew from my 9.2 and the one I had in mind. What I couldn’t have known from the specs was how at home I’d feel playing it.
I’m looking for a little more body without losing the overtones. Yannick is working on a B7 for me, and it should be ready in early 2027. I’m curious to hear what it brings to my small-group jazz playing. Who knows, I might end up using it for everything.
03 / THROUGH THE YEARS
A wall of
memories.
Over the years, I’ve played quite a few different trumpets, and somehow I’ve managed to keep most of them.
They now hang on the wall of my home studio, each representing a different chapter of my musical journey.
Among them are several Yamaha trumpets, a Conn Constellation, a Conn 8B, and even a trumpet I built myself for the Dutch television series De nieuwe Stradivarius.
Some have travelled the world with me, others have spent countless hours on stage or in recording studios.
I love having them around. Each instrument reminds me of a different period in my career, the music I’ve played, and the people I’ve met along the way.
Just an enthusiast. I don’t have any endorsement deals with instrument brands.
I don’t even get a discount.
