Announcing The New Orleans Z’hulus 30th Anniversary Tour

In 2014 The New Orleans Z’hulus will have been “on the warpath” for 30 years
and Jazz&Jazz is pleased to announce their UK Anniversary Tour well in advance.
Dates, venues and full details of their tour programme and itinerary
will be published in good time for advanced bookings.

LtoR: Emile Martyn, Emile Van Pelt, Dan Vercruysse, Philippe de Smet, Brian Turnock and John Defferary

The band was the brainchild of the legendary Belgian drummer Maurice Van Eyck because he wanted a group of musicians with similar views to his to continue to play in the “old” New Orleans tradition. Sadly the years of “hard living” have taken their toll on Maurice and he has retired to the south of France. However, three decades on the band is still fulfilling his wishes and we are continuing to “look after it” for him. The New Orleans Z’hulus play festivals and clubs throughout Europe. All of the members have either lived or spent considerable time in New Orleans recording or playing with the greats of this music.

DAN VERCRUYSSE (Belgium) Trumpet: Dan has been with the band since 2006. He brings a calm and authoritative lead to the band and a rich variety of new numbers into the band’s book. A resident of Kortrijk, he also leads his own group “The Superior Dance Band”. As the title suggests he is a great admirer of Bunk Johnson.

PHILIPPE DE SMET (Belgium) Trombone: One of the founder members of the Z’hulus, in his early days Philippe was heavily influenced by Louis Nelson, so much so that he was invited to dep when the great man took sick during a Swiss tour with Danny Barker’s Band. He is in great demand both on trombone and his second instrument, the tenor sax.

JOHN DEFFERARY (UK/Germany) Clarinet: An outstanding reedman, John has graced many of the top bands for half a century. His CV includes long stints with Papa Bue, Chris Barber and Trevor Richards. He first came to prominence with Keith Smith’s Climax Band in the early sixties which also included Brian Turnock. His association with the Z’hulus goes way back and he was on the first ever recording of the band.

EMILE VAN PELT (Holland) Piano: An extremely talented pianist and vocalist, Emile has worked with several bands in Europe over the years. He has become more familiar with British audiences recently as a member of Sammy Rimington’s Band. A solid hard driving pianist in the true New Orleans tradition he is both an accomplished rhythm man and a soloist

BRIAN TURNOCK (UK/Belgium) String Bass. A member of the Z’hulus for over a quarter of a century, Brian has also starred with many of the top bands on the New Orleans circuit. Beginning in the 60’s with Keith Smith and for many years with Barry Martyn, Brian then settled on mainland Europe and worked with Sammy Rimington and Lillian Boutte. He has recorded with all of the top New Orleans artists ranging from George Lewis and John Handy to Don Ewell and Lil Armstrong.

EMILE MARTYN (UK/ USA) Drums: Having played with the Z’hulus on their Swiss tours Emile is a welcome addition to the drum chair. Following in his father Barry’s footsteps he studied drums with the old masters whilst living in New Orleans and is one of the few exponents of the old style New Orleans beat. Now based in London, Emile is now the leader of The Fallen Heroes.