ArtistInfo

Ria Joy

voc, NL
Jazz
A.k.a. Maria Laarman

Amsterdam, 13 maart 1924 - Amstelveen, 26 juli 2001. Right after World War II, she became known as Ria Joy with the in East Groningen (The North of The Netherlands) stationed allied soldiers through her performances at a club in the city of Winschoten with a band led by pianist Guus van Manen, with clarinettist Pardy Leopold and bassist Jochem de Molenaar. Two years later, she joined The Rhythm Club (3), in which she sang with singer/bassist Henk Scheffer, who led the group together with guitarist Herman Vis. Guus van Manen who also played piano in this combo, was her husband from 1949 until 1951. After The Rhythm Club (3) broke up in 1950, she sang in the Atlantic Quintet for a while, performing in American officer clubs in Germany. Back in The Netherlands, trumpeter Willy Schobben asked her to sing in his orchestra for Avro radio. After her marriage with Ted Heinrichs in 1954 and after the birth of their daughter Anja in 1955, Ria became known with the visitors of the "Palermo" in Amsterdam, where she performed with Johnny Millstone's orchestra in 1955 and with the Titania Orkest (Titania Orchestra) in 1956 with Aart Zegveld (tenor sax and accordion), Wim Jongbloed (piano), Bert Visser (guitar and vocals), Theo Koppes (bass) and Arie Hessing (drums). After her husband's passing in the early 90s, Ria retired from music and publicity altogether.

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