Oscar Benton – The Oscar Benton Blues Band Live At Haarlem Jazz & More: 1968 – 2018 50 Years On Stage

Fifty years later he still lives to play live. Fifty years from stage to stage, from blues singer to a life filled with blues. Listen care-fully to the lyrics of Bensonhurst Blues, the way Oscar brings the words to live and turned into a world hit, and you will hear a song that in just a few verses expresses the spiritual heartache of denying your roots and trying to adapt to a strange culture that will never be your own.

He pays his respect to the old masters by never serving up just a dull predictable copy of their originals. And through all those years he’s helped the musicians who played and still play alongside with him in the Oscar Benton Bluesband make their own musical and personal breakthroughs.

Oscar’s musical career has been a roller coaster ride, unparalleled highs offset by moments of necessary compromise. But it was the ride that gave Oscar the strength to carry on, something you will experience through this album of his life’s work.

The power of Oscar Benton lies in the simple fact that his unique way of playing and singing blues music has evolved over half a century, years of gradually shifting through the gears from interpretation to experience. So please enjoy the ride.

The Oscar Benton Blues Band:

Oscar Benton – vocals
Han van Dam – piano
Guus Laporte – guitar and second vocals
Johnny Laporte – guitar and support
Art Bausch – drums
Lut Luttik – bass and double bass
Kim Snelten – bluesharp (special guest)

Video and audio production

Merijn van den Nieuwendijk – editor and authoring Gwen Rijken – editor
Coen van Dietz de Loos – recording technician Leo Sienot at Studilio – mixing and mastering

Graphic artwork and design

Jan Blaauw

Photography

Bo Blaauw, Fons Duin, Jen Pierre Jans,
Kuno Mooren, Ramon Philippo, Karin Rövekamp, Ron van Varik

Support

Neal Vaughan, Thomas Toussaint, Ria Klomp, Henk van der AA, Josje Groot-van Duijn

Documentary about Oscar Benton

Roel van Dalen – director

Mees van Dalen – sound technician

Haarlem Jazz&More Festival

Martijn Bevelander – organisation
Joost van Rijmenam – presentation
Bram van Kattenbroek – stage management Denise van der Schaft – stage management Patrick Uittendaal – production

HD-LIVE Videoproductions

John Luit – ledscreen director

Camera

Roel van Dalen, Hans Fels, Eddy Konijn Kuno Mooren, Louis van Asperen, Sjoerd Dekker, Edwin Woning

Muziek Staffhorst Vinyl Utrecht

Anne Veen – production

Johnny Laporte – Initiator, executive producer