The Ramblers

There have been a number of bands named 'The Ramblers': 1. NL Dutch jazz band and orchestra The Ramblers (1926 - present) whom Coleman Hawkins toured with 2. FR Garage rock revival band from Avignon. They released one full length LP, "Ramblin' Back to the Grave" in 1987, and then a 7" entitled "Ramblin' Back" b/w "Rainy Days" in 1995. 3. US New York based Americana band led by Jeremiah Birnbaum 4. US Los Angeles Californian country music style band 5. UK children's group (1978-1980) who released a single about a sparrow and later an LP 6. UK punk-style band from Ampthill, Bedfordshire 7. CL Chilean Rythm'n'Blues Combo from the 1960s 8. PT Portuguese blues-rock band, formed in 2007. And many more! 1. The Ramblers (Dutch jazz band and dance orchestra) Official site:www.theramblers.nl The Ramblers as a swing jazz band were popularized by concerts across Europe and by domestic and international radio broadcasts from the Netherlands from the 1920s to the 1950s. From the 1950s onwards, the original swing content diminished as they included more modern and big band dance style jazz renditions. In 1992 The Guinness Book of Records certified them to be the world's oldest dance orchestra. 1926 - 1929 The Ramblers were formed by Theo Uden Masman from the The Resonance Seven jazz band on the 1st of September 1926, as a cabaret orchestra for the cabaret La Gaîté in Amsterdam. The original lineup was: Theo Uden Masman (piano), Louis de Vries, (trumpet); Jan Gluhoff, (clarinet and saxophone); Gerard Spruyt, (trombone), Jacques Pet, (banjo); Kees Kranenburg, (drums) and Jack de Vries, (sousafoon). 1928 saw the vocalist, alto saxophone and clarinet player Wim Poppink join. Latterly he is best remembered for his vocals in Wie is Loesje, Dag schatteboutje and Weet je nog wel. 1928 also saw the trumpeter and vocalist Eddy Meenk join which resulted in two subsequent English language period hits for The Ramblers, Business in Q and Music in my Fingers. 1930 - 1939 1933 saw the singer and trombonist Marcel Thielemans join. 1933 also marked the first of more than 2000 V.A.R.A. radio-concert broadcasts and another trip to London for the BBC. The word was spreading and in 1934 [artist/]Freddy Johnson sang and recorded Zuiderzee Blues with The Ramblers, which was also issued under the anglicized name of Zuyderzee Blues on '78. In 1935 the lyricist Jack Bulterman joined and The Ramblers used his Nederlandstalige songs Wie is Loesje, Het proces van Pietertje Swing, Meneer de baron is niet thuis, De Ramblers gaan naar Artis (Paul Roda) and Weet je nog wel die avond in de regen. As a direct consequence of Bulterman's popular and often humorous songs, VARA radio audiences grew and their concerts became ever more popular and their success was guaranteed. 1937 heralded the saxophonist and violinist Sal Doof and trumpeter and violist Sem Nijveen joining. Both were to feature in the recordings of The Ramblers when Coleman Hawkins played with the band. He had left the Netherlands by the time Germany invaded on May 10th, 1939. 1940 - 1949 During the wartime German occupation of the Netherlands, The Ramblers continued to play concerts and broadcast, but via the German amalgamated Nederlandsche Omroep, which they controlled. In 1941 the Jewish musicians Sem Nijveen and Sal Doof were expelled by the regime who also dictated that the Anglo sounding name of the band be changed to 'Theo Uden Masman en zijn Dansorkest'. Sal Doof was caught, deported, interned in Sobibor and murdered but Sem Nijveen was hidden and supported by Theo Uden Masman in his home. In 1944 upon the liberation of Belgium, where the band were then playing, a further name change took place in honour of the liberating US Army. However Kees Kranenburg had to take the helm when they returned to a liberated Holland because Theo Uden Masman was deemed to have collaborated with the Germans due to the broadcasts and concerts they gave in front of Germans. In 1947 Jack Bulterman left the band to become a music producer, but the band's renewed popularity overcame these and wartime issues and The Ramblers were soon back in favour. 1948 saw Sem Nijveen leave The Ramblers to join the Metropole Orkest. 1950 - 1959 Joint-ventures with Rotterdams Philharmonisch Orkest and fresh talent such as Charlie Nederpelt in 1954 assured their success well into the late 1950s. 1960 - 1969 However, by the early 1960s popular tastes had changed and on the 11th April 1964 Theo Uden Masman conducted the last of The Ramblers TV broadcasts for the V.A.R.A. Differences about what the band should play, the style and with whom were cited. Some of the band members stayed on with the V.A.R.A. as the VARA Dansorkest, led by Charlie Nederpelt. The VARA could not use the name, The Ramblers, because of its close association with Theo Uden Masman so renamed the band after themselves. Due to the public demand generated by LP releases and broadcasts of their best works in the early 1970s, The Ramblers reformed under their old name in 1974. 1970 - 1989 The Ramblers reformed in 1974 and revived their loyal following under Jack Bulterman. Following his death, Marcel Thielemans took the helm, securing their comeback. During this period the broadcaster TROS sponsored the band due to their traditional repertoire still being much in demand. 1990 - 1999 However, as both musicians and domestic audiences fell away as they aged and died, in 1997 the bassist Jacques Schols was appointed leader and introduced new music. Outside of the Netherlands their early pre-war jazz remained popular within the jazz fraternity due to guest musicians such as Coleman Hawkins playing with them. 2000 - 2009 The 2000s saw a number of compilation CD's released by Weton-Wesgram and The Ramblers continued to play live within the Netherlands. Re-issued pre-1950s recordings became available as downloads and re-stimulated domestic and international demand for the band's music. 2010 - present From this, in September 2010, Tony Junior & Nicolas Nox scored a hit in the Netherlands with a song called Loesje, a remix of The Ramblers 1939 hit Wie is Loesje, sung by Wim Poppink. In September 2013, the Dutch jazz vocalist Ronald Douglas organised an event for young jazz-singers at the theatre En Pluche in Amsterdam to accompany The Ramblers, which is in line with Jacques Schols philosophy of introducing younger talent into the band; “Toen ik bij The Ramblers kwam was ik een van de jongeren, nu hoor ik bij de oudjes. Verjonging moet er blijven.” Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.