On Thursday, September 26, jazz pioneer Willem van Manen died in a traffic accident. From 2005 to 2019 he was editor-in-chief of Jazz at the Concertzender. He was the first ‘well-known’ jazz musician to work for the Concertzender, and – partly because of his stature – he was immediately held in high esteem by the entire editorial staff. It has always remained that way.
Willem was involved with Dutch improvised music from its earliest days, not only through his music but also because of his organisational abilities. He made a very important contribution to the development of jazz and improvised music in the Netherlands and was one of the founders of the Bimhuis in 1974.
He was a trombonist, band leader and composer, both of jazz and of other types of modern music. He was also a teacher at the Amsterdam Conservatory for a long time and was active in various boards and councils.
Willem gave shape and character to the Jazz department of the Concertzender for many years, through his enthousiasm, his knowledge and his network. We will not forget his affable and calm personality, the way in which he encouraged and/or corrected his programme makers with extremely short – but to the point – emails, nor will we forget the bimonthly editorial meetings in the Arendsnest, where he ensured that the agenda items were handled as quickly as possible so that there was plenty of time for socialising.
With Willem we have lost a modest man who dedicated himself to music all his life. He never claimed recognition for himself but fortunately the monarchy recognised the importance of his efforts and – although he was a convinced republican! – he received a knighthood in 1997.
We wish his relatives strength in dealing with their loss.
