Vintage Wim Overgaauw

Wim Overgaauw 1960

I have written about Wim Overgaauw earlier here when I first posted the video below. It features Wim playing in the Pim Jacobs Trio in 1960. There is very little doubt Wim has been the single most important figure in the development of jazz guitar in the Netherlands. Although he died in 1995, his heritage is still strongly felt in the presence of his former students Jesse van Ruller and Martijn van Iterson.



But, as the clips show, Wim was not always a teacher. Before he embarked on a career in teaching he had been playing for over two decades, his career starting somewhere in the 1950s. However, it was in the 1960s that he rose to prominence as guitarist in the Pim Jacobs trio. A trio that later toured Europe with jazz singer Rita Reijs. Here's a clip from the trio backing Rita. The year is 1960 too. Wim takes a great solo.



It's good to see more and more vintage Wim Overgaauw showing up on Youtube. I don't think Wim was that happy with his recorded output at the end of his life but these clips show him in great shape and really deserve to be heard.

Throughout the 1960s pianist Pim Jacobs hosted several jazz shows on Dutch radio and tv featuring guest musicians and Wim got to play with several American jazz greats in those days. Some performances of the Pim Jacobs trio or quartet with guest stars were taped and it is great to see that some of these recordings have survived and have been published by bass player Ruud Jacobs on his website. (By the way, the classic video of Wes Montgomery in Holland (1965) shows the same Pim Jacob trio backing Wes, now with a drummer replacing Wim.)

Here's a lengthy live clip  of "Night in Tunisia" with Johnny Griffin on sax and Kenny Drew on piano from 1963. Wim takes a solo at 12.20 in the clip.




The clip below is the Pim Jacobs quartet featuring Cannonball Adderley. It was recorded for Dutch Radio in 1965. It is truly a gem, featuring Wim in full flight. It clearly demonstrates that Wim was a fully developed jazz guitarist at the time. A European top guitarist, on a par with the much better known Rene Thomas.



I\d  like to end the series with two clips from a 1990 recording that he did with the Pim Jacobs trio backing saxophone player Ruud Brink. Note the marvellous swing comping by Wim. Wim's solo must have been overdubbed. I always liked the easy swing of this album that can be found on Youtube in its entirety. Not really vintage Wim, but very enjoyable nonetheless.



From the same 1990 session we find "East of the Sun" with a very relaxed and lyrical solo fom the Dutch jazz guitar master.