voc, *1953 NL, Woerden
Singer / Composer of Jazz, Electronic and Spoken Word
Jaap Blonk (born 1953 in Woerden, Holland) is a self-taught composer, voice performer and sound poet. His unfinished studies in physics, mathematics and musicology mainly created a penchant for activities in a Dada vein, as did several unsuccessful jobs in offices and other well-organized systems. In the late 1970s he took up saxophone and started to compose music, and a few years later a real breakthrough occurred: he discovered the power and flexibility of his voice. At present, he has developed into a prolific writer/composer and a specialist in the performance of sound poetry, supported by a powerful stage presence and an almost childlike freedom in improvisation. He performed in many European countries, as well as in the U.S., Canada, Indonesia, South Africa and Latin America. Besides working as a soloist, he collaborated with many musicians and ensembles in the field of contemporary and improvised music, like Paul Lytton, Mats Gustafsson, Michael Zerang, Fred Lonberg-Holm, Melvyn Poore, Paul Dutton, Nicolas Collins, the Netherlands Wind Ensemble and the Ebony Band. He performed in several compositions by the German composer Carola Bauckholt, including a piece for voice and orchestra. A solo voice piece was commissioned by the Donaueschinger Musiktage 2002. Blonk is the founder and leader of Splinks, a 15-piece orchestra playing his compositions, and Braaxtaal, an avant-rock trio with synthesizer and drums. He also has his own record label, Kontrans. His work for radio and television includes several commissioned radio plays. He also makes larger-scale drawings of his scores, which have been exhibited. Blonk is an energetic workshop leader too, who taught in many different countries, including a lot of work with children. A recent development is his involvement with electronics, in the form of work created by sampling and processing the sounds of his voice. Jaap Blonk keeps on searching the rich common ground between poetry and music. He is always after new sounds and combinations of sounds, without abandoning completely the semantics of language. His live performances are music, poetry and performance art all at the same time.
Track list and 30sec audio provided by
Title | Artist | Year | Type |
---|---|---|---|
Hillside Talks | Udo Schindler / Jaap Blonk | 2019 | Album |
Ute Wassermann, Jaap Blonk & Michael Vorfeld | Ute Wassermann, Jaap Blonk & Michael Vorfeld | 2019 | Album |
Thirsty Ears | Jaap Blonk & Terrie Ex | 2018 | Album |
Kochspuren / Traces Of Cookery | Jaap Blonk | 2018 | Album |
Fehlberliner U-Wirr | Jaap Blonk | 2017 | Album |
Irrelevant Comments | Jaap Blonk | 2017 | Album |
Das Kapital | Kommissar Hjuler Und Frau & Jaap Blonk w/ BRAAXTAAL & Jürgen O. Olbrich | 2017 | Album |
Jaap Blonk Leest Theo Van Doesburg | Jaap Blonk Leest Theo Van Doesburg | 2016 | Single |
Hugo Ball: Sechs Laut-Und Klanggedichte, 1916 [Six Sound Poems, 1916] | Jaap Blonk + Damon Smith | 2014 | Album |
North Of Blanco | Jaap Blonk • Sandy Ewen • Damon Smith • Chris Cogburn | 2014 | Album |
August Ananke | Jaap Blonk | 2014 | Album |
Klinkt | Jaap Blonk | 2013 | Compil. |
Lifespans | Jaap Blonk | 2013 | Album |
Polyphtong | Jaap Blonk | 2013 | Album |
Mixed From Heaven | Jaap Blonk | 2013 | Album |
Traces Of Speech / Sprachspuren | Jaap Blonk | 2012 | Album |
Keynote Dialogues | Jaap Blonk | 2012 | Album |
At The Hideout | Jeb Bishop, Jaap Blonk, Lou Mallozzi & Frank Rosaly | 2012 | Album |
Deep Fried | Jaap Blonk & Machinefabriek | 2012 | Album |
The Splinks And BRAAXTAAL Recordings 1993 | Jaap Blonk | 2011 | Album |
Dubbletwee | Jaap Blonk & Dylan Nyoukis | 2008 | Album |
Post-Human Identities | Maja S. K. Ratkje & Jaap Blonk | 2005 | Album |
Pre-Zoic Cellways | Jaap Blonk & Cor Fuhler | 2005 | Album |
Blonk, Zach & Grydeland | Jaap Blonk, Ingar Zach & Ivar Grydeland | 2004 | Album |
Off Shore | Jaap Blonk & Bart Van Der Putten & Paul Pallesen | 2004 | Album |
Five Men Singing | Jaap Blonk & Makigami Koichi & Paul Dutton & Phil Minton & David Moss | 2004 | Album |
Majaap | Maja S. K. Ratkje & Jaap Blonk | 2004 | Album |
Hübsch, Van Bebber & Blonk | Carl Ludwig Hübsch & Jaap Blonk | 2003 | Album |
Bek | Radboud Mens & Jaap Blonk | 2002 | Album |
Averschuw | Jaap Blonk | 2001 | Album |
Come To Catch Your Voice | Vogelkwartet & Jaap Blonk | 2001 | Album |
First Meetings | Jaap Blonk / Fredrick Lonberg-Holm / Michael Zerang | 1998 | Album |
Vocalor | Jaap Blonk | 1998 | Album |
Blonk, Gustafsson & Zerang | Jaap Blonk, Mats Gustafsson & Michael Zerang | 1996 | Album |
Blonk, Nijdam & Van Der Putten | Jaap Blonk, Jan Nijdam & Bart Van Der Putten | 1996 | Album |
Flux De Bouche | Jaap Blonk | 1993 | Album |
Liederen Uit De Hemel | Jaap Blonk | 1993 | Album |
Ursonate | Kurt Schwitters - Jaap Blonk | 1986 | Album |