About Henk de Laat
Bass player and vocalist
Bass player and vocalist Henk de Laat studied with honours at the Rotterdam Conservatory where he graduated as a master in jazz and contemporary music in 1987. He completed his classical bass studies in 1988. Then he studied vocals with Deborah Brown and Ge Titulaer for two years. Later he developed his voice with the aid of Henry Chef d’Horge from Paris who taught him a natural and organic way of singing. He studied vocal improvisation with Rhiannon (Hawaii).
In 1980 Henk started his musical career with a band called X-tra, playing ska-music. Later on he joined a group called Casino, accompanying Dutch and artists from abroad. He studied at the music school in Tilburg where there was a very lively jazz scene.
A versatile accompanist he played with top-ranked vocalists such as Shirley Bassey, Jon Hendricks, Deborah Brown, Marjorie Barnes, Dee Daniels, Jahida Wehbe and with exquisite jazz instrumentalists as Mel Lewis, Bob Mintzer and Bob Malach. For two years he toured with Denise Jannah with whom he played among others at the North Sea Jazz Festival in The Hague. He played with “La Corda”, a unique trio with guitar players Peter Mingaars and Ben Boogaard.
