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Eric Jan OVERBEEK (The NETHERLAND (Pays Bas))

"Eric-Jan Overbeek (1967) had his first piano lessons at the age of eight and began his musical career playing classical piano in church. At fourteen, he heard Fats Domino play the Swanee River Hop and it became clear that he wanted to be a boogie-woogie man. Soon he discovered Dutch boogie players like André Valkering and the legendary Rob Hoeke, who became a good friend until he passed away in 1999. Of course he listened to Albert Ammons, Meade Lux Lewis and Pete Johnson (the three "kings of boogie- woogie") but being invited on stage by Hoeke and Valkering influenced his playing even more. Other influences include Dr.John, Ray Charles and, unexpectedly guitarists B.B.King and the Master of the Telecaster Albert Collins. Eric-Jan has always been stunned by so much power in blues. Since 1990 he fronts his own band Mr. Boogie Woogie & the Firesweep Bluesband, a rhythm and blues band with as "specialité de la maison" : boogie-woogie! A show by Mr. Boogie Woogie is a sensational event. His remarkable sound, his energy and enthusiasm, it sets the place on fire. Mr.Boogie Woogie has been a success at many festivals, including the Belgian Rhythm & Blues Festival, the Gaildorfer Bluesfest in the south of Germany, the Drijf-In-Bluesfestival in Giethoorn, Holland and even, as the only musician in the world six times the Amsterdam Bluesfestival at the Meervaart. Also boogie-woogie festivals in Rotterdam (NL), Paris (F), Lyon (F) and Brugge (B). On these and other occasions he shared the stage with international giants of blues like Matt "Guitar" Murphy, Johnny Copeland, Van Morrison, Koko Taylor, Magic Slim and the Teardrops, The Blues Brothers Band and the crème de la crème of boogie-woogie pianists like Axel Zwingenberger (Ger), Al Copley (USA), Little Willy Littlefield (USA), Charles Brown (USA) and many others. His latest album Three Pound Fist, recorded in 2000 at his own Firesweep studio, features the band in its new line-up. An active man like Mr. Boogie Woogie should not be confined to one country. So he expands his horizons and besides the Netherlands he now plays all over Europe and made his debut in the United States in September 2001."

website : www.mrboogiewoogie.nl

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