Cornelis Hazevoet

Cornelis Jan "Kees" Hazevoet (born 15 March 1948) is a Dutch ornithologist and former professional jazz musician. He played piano, clarinet, and sometimes trumpet during his musical career, during which he was among the leading figures in the introduction of free jazz to the Netherlands. He is now curator of birds at the University of Lisbon's natural history museum, and an expert on the birds and other fauna of Cape Verde.

Hazevoet was born in Amsterdam. His family and especially his mother had an interest in music; his parents kept classic jazz records, and got him started playing piano at a young age. He also had an interest in nature and biology from an early age. As a teenager he grew more interested in jazz, started playing trumpet and then clarinet, and attended workshops run by Theo Loevendie. At the time, many of his inspirations were jazz drummers, including Art Blakey. He went to school with bassist Arjen Gorter, who would collaborate with him again after they became professionals. Hazevoet hoped to enter a conservatory, but failed to be admitted.

Hazevoet started playing jazz in 1963, and in 1965 began to play free jazz, due in particular to the influence of the American avant-garde jazz pioneer Albert Ayler. During the 1960s, he was among the most prominent of the musicians who introduced free jazz to the Netherlands. He was a member of one of bandleader Willem Breuker's first groups in 1966, and played on Breuker's debut album. Hazevoet began a career as a professional jazz musician, playing with among others the group For Adolphe Sax led by saxophonist Peter Brötzmann. His collaboration with Han Bennink was one of his most important, beginning in 1967 and lasted until 1980. In 1970, he formed a quartet with Arjen Gorter, the saxophonist Kris Wanders, and the South African drummer Louis Moholo, and that year they released the album Pleasure. Around 1975, this group expanded into a septet, including Evan Parker and Maarten van Regteren Altena. In 1976, he formed the new group "Haazz & Company", with Moholo, Bennink, Brötzmann, and Johnny Dyani, and released Unlawful Noise.

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