Roots Motion is based in the Hague in the Netherlands, but international in scope and vision. Our goal is to connect audiences with a wide variety of artists whose playing reflects the musical roots of jazz in an intimate and social environment that evokes the music’s cultural roots.
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Roots Motion is run by guitarist Dan Nicholas, a native of New York City and New Jersey, who has made the Netherlands his home in since 2001, inspired by the rich jazz culture he found there, and the potential he saw for it to evolve.
The Netherlands is home to an exceptional jazz scene with a deep history of over seventy-five years, great diversity, strong educational institutions, and a constant stream of visiting international artists.
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The Hague in particular is known as Holland’s number one jazz town, birthplace of the North Sea Jazz Festival, the world’s premier festival of it’s kind from the 1970s through 1990s. The town gained notoriety among international jazz greats during this time, with it bars and cafes host to innumerable concerts and jam sessions.
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This tradition continues to this day, and is the foundation for Roots Motion.
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Active since 2007, Roots Motion has taken great advantage of the Netherlands’ formidable jazz environment, hosting musical events in a variety of venues and consistently programming an exceptionally high level of local and international artists. We make special efforts to program and establish connections with artists visiting from abroad.
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Roots Motion has presented such international artists as:
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Barry Harris, Peter Bernstein, Larry Goldings, Bill Stewart, Gary Smulyan, Ari Hoenig, Dave Liebman, Jeremy Pelt, Jason Marsalis, Harry Allen, Lage Lund, Gilad Heckselman, Grant Stewart, Jeff Ballard, Dado Moroni, Jason Lindner, Mark Gulliana, David Binney, Philip Harper, Don Friedman, Dave Glasser, Gene Jackson, and Willie Jones III.
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Roots Motion has presented artists from such diverse countries as The Netherlands, The USA, France, Belgium, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Greece, Brazil, Cuba, Germany, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Russia, Serbia, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Finland, South Africa, Canada, England, Ireland, Wales, and more.
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Roots Motion has presented such Local artists as:
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Ack van Rooyen, Benjamin Herman, Ferdinand Povel, Rita Reys, Peter Beets, Jesse van Ruller, Faye Klassen, Bart van Lier, Ben van Gelder, Martijn van Iterson, Rik Mol, Joris Roelofs, Frits Landesbergen, John Engels, Rob van Bavel, Ruud Jacobs, and Eric Ineke.
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Roots Motion believes that live music is an essential aspect of culture. Our motivation is to share exceptional live jazz with the general public, as well as the enthusiast and the connaisseur. Our audience are participants at our events, not observers. The connection between musicians and audience is THE fundamental aspect of live music performance.
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Though the concert hall and the festival are both important places for jazz to be heard, its home is in the club. The intimate environment of a jazz club is where the music is best discovered. The club is the preferred type of venue among musicians and it’s the single best environment for jam sessions to thrive.
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Roots Motion is currently presenting concerts and jam sessions at three different venues in the Hague including Pavlov, our base of operations since 2008. We can be found there every Sunday afternoon from 4-6 p.m. and other special occasions. Roots Motion also hosts jazz twice monthly on Thursdays at ’t Syndicaat, The Hague’s best kept secret, and on most Saturday nights at Grand Cafe Victoria.
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