My name is José Baars. I play the double bass since 1978. I ended up playing in old style jazz bands through a process that took several years. At home I grew up with classical music, mainly Bach, as my father loved that music. At age 14 I started to play the guitar, and I listened to popular bands of the age: Deep Purple, Yes, Led Zeppelin. Very soon Weather Report, Stanley Clarke and Jaco Pastorius were added. On the search for the inspiration of these musicians, through Duke Ellington and Charlie Parker I ended up with Charles Mingus, who is still my all-time jazzhero.

Many people that love the Old Fashioners will not like Charles Mingus, they might even be offended. Tough. I my opinion there are far less differences than similarities between these styles of music.

So, I bought a double bass. I already played bass guitar, and very soon I joined the Stevedore Jazzband. After 10 years I joined the Tin Pan Ally Jazzband, and after that I joined the Old Fashioners like Siem and Marcel before me.

The Old Fashioners are reputed for their enthusiasm. At a gig in Arnhem it was described as 'functional violence'. The enthusiasm is mainly caused by the fact that everyone in the band is doing his own 'thing', there are no restrictions posed on the individual musician, based on style. This is mainly because a discussion about style would keep us from playing, tastes vary a lot, just listen to the radio. Usually Sam proposes a number, and then we just try it. When it doesn't work we won't do it, but if we do, the number will be immediately recognizable as an Old Fashioners number, it has something specific and different. To me, that's the most important reason that after 10 years I'm still playing in the Old Fashioners.

On October 6, 1983 I Was born in Enkhuizen, and from age 0 I was rhythmically destroying my mother's pots and pans. At age 4 I got my first real drum, and from then on I was infected by the rhythm virus. At primary school nobody recognized me without a drum, and at that age I had my debute as The Little Drummer Boy, and sometimes I still get called that way.

Years passed by, and trips abroad to the UK and to Europe started to make part of my musical activities, and the director of a local brassband pointed me to the world of musicals, which I find fascinating. At age 21 I play drums and percussion in several bands, orchestras and choirs. Summer 2005 I felt proud to be asked to replace the legendary Siemen Brieffies in the Old Fashioners.

I'm really looking forward playing with this band, and will throw all the swing I have!

Berry Schuuring, drums. Born on Febryary 24th, 1954 in Tilburg. At the age of 2 I walked the streets of Tilburg with a tin drum, and at home the pots and pans weren't safe either, much to the distress of my mother. At the age of 4 my father had me made a special drum made of calf skin and cat gut, as the normal drums made me topple over. My grandfather, being an army drummer himself, gave me my first drumming lessons, and two years later I was admitted to the very brassband my grandfather was a member of. As I gained experience playing in drumbands, several orchestras came with offers to play along: I played with several party bands. At the age of 16 I joined the band of the Dutch Royal Marines and I stayed there until my retirement, playing as a drummer in the Steelband and the last five years I was 'tambour-maitre', the leader of the band. Since 1976 I got involved in playing jazz. First I took a few lessons with Huub Janssen to get the knack of playing jazz, I learned a lot, and had a good laugh with Huub. After that I played with several bands, both as a band member and as a replacement drummer. From 1976 to 1988 I played in The Paradise Jazzband, from 1989 to 1995 at The Dixie Six, from 1996 to 2000 back at the Paradise Jazzband, and from 2000 to 2008 at the Pepperhouse Swing Factory. I occasionally played with the South Jazzband, the New Five and several show- and partybands, and played with well-known artists as Jan Morks, Benny Waters, Beryl Breyden, Sheilla Collier, Meta de Vries, Conny van Bergen and Jean ‘Toots’ Tielemans