Han Litz Group

Info

Flutist Han Litz is a live & recording artist:Han Litz Group, Kindred Spirits Ensemble, Jazzanova, Diephuis, Osunlade, Gabriele Poso, Kid Sublime a.o.

Geschiedenis

Han Litz is all about crossing over:
“While performing, I want to evoke 'that feeling’. Boost the energy level and make people act free. Create unity.” Amsterdam-based flute player Han Litz is a man of many talents – composer, arranger, producer – and he will never back out of a good party, particularly when he’s asked to set the pace. “Any kind of party,” he adds with a glint in his eye.

After finishing his studies at the Amsterdam Conservatorium with the highest accolades possible, Litz took to professional performance on stages from Amsterdam to Jakarta, and from Warsaw to Rome. Frequently labeled ‘the sambajazzfunkflutist’, he is fluent in a wide range of musical styles and genres. “The flute is all about breath and air,” he says. “It has a wider range of timbre than the sax. Its sound is closest to the human voice.”

Litz's flute has ‘growled’ in many musical settings, from orchestrated jazz to house. He first heard the ‘growl’ while listening to Jeremy Steig whose flute loop has been used in Beastie Boy's hit 'Sure Shot'. Next to learning flutists how to improvise, create good vibes and play ‘funky’, he’s teaching theory to producers and deejays.

“At their request, I function as a kind of music theory coach to a number of producers and DJs,” Litz says. “That came out of co-operating with producers and deejays at live performances. They want to expand their knowledge of music. I applaud that ambition and gladly put in a helping hand. It’s a way to return the compliment and help add an extra dimension of musicality to their tracks.”

Who's Who of jazz and dance crossover:
As a youngster, Han Litz was taken by the flute. He started playing cross flute at the age twelve. Four years later, he got hooked on jazz via radio. “It was the sound,” he comments. “I was listening to Top 40 radio and did not have a clue that there was so much more to music than the hits of the day. Radio is still critical in broadening the musical horizons of musicians as well as the audience.”

Even before he graduated from the Amsterdam Conservatorium in 1998, Litz had his first taste of the recording studio and European stages. Fifteen years on, he has gathered many laurels, built an extensive (and impressive) discography, and his resume reads like a Who's Who of international jazz and dance crossover scene.

Litz plays in English/Dutch collective Flowriders (currently Seravince), the very first band to perform ‘broken beats’ live. He has performed with an assortment of internationally reputed DJ's, Osunlade, Jazzanova, Louie Vega(Masters At Work), Patrick Forge (Da Lata), Erick E., Michel de Hey, Kid Sublime, Roog, DJ Maestro, and DJ Deep among them.

Together with KC The Funkaholic, Litz started the spiritual jazz project Kindred Spirits Ensemble. Han is also a well-respected live performer and interpreter, having been selected in 2011 to perform on flute and piccolo in a ground-breaking debut live performance of Arthur Verocai's seminal self-titled 1972 album for the Brasil Festival Amsterdam, conducted by the great Verocai himself.

Thinking in sound:
Han is the MD of his band Han Litz Group, and composed arranged and produced their sef-released debut album, Epiphany (2012 NL). This well received debut has been remixed by mostly Dutch producers a.o. Greg Van Bueren, Monte La Rue, Kid Sublime, Nelson & Djosa, Diephuis, Phil Martin on the second Han Litz Group album 'Epiphany Electrified'. This album has been positively reviewed in Jazzism, Trouw, Jazzcontrasten, Written in Music, Clublife, nu.nl and other well known dutch magazines.

“I think in sound,” Litz comments on his many roles and wide range of musical activities. He likes to think of it as building bridges. “I cover a pretty wide scope. As a flute-player, I enjoy crossing over jazz and club music. The flute provides the ideal bridge between genres, and my deep experience of composing, arranging my own and others' music allows me to add an extra dimension to any club performance.”

Musicians on Han Litz Group's album 'Epiphany':
Han Litz, Thijs Cuppen, Folker Tettero, Kris Rietveld, Eric Calmes Udo Demandt.


guests on the album:
Orlando Mino, vocals on Away Again(Lejos)
Jeffrey Zuhdy, vocals on Blue Pages
Claus Tofft, percussion


LIVE band:
Han Litz, Martin Gort + TBA