Rood Adeo

Rood Adeo (born Roderik Adeo Jansz, 10 November 1970, in Nijmegen) is a Dutch singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and recording artist. His musical style is influenced by rock, jazz, blues, classical, and folk. Adeo's flexible voice, ranging from tenor to bass, varies between a bright, high pitched sound and a duskier, harsh timbre.[1] Founder of the band Rood & Nighthawks at the Diner,[2] Adeo also recorded a number of albums under different names,[3] backed by a changing line-up of musicians.[4] Adeo performs with piano, guitar, and with the occasionally use of other keyboards, accordion, and cajón.

Rood Adeo
Rood Adeo, Hilversum, March 2012
Background information
Birth name	Roderik Adeo Jansz
Born	(1970-11-10) 10 November 1970 Nijmegen, The Netherlands
Genres	rock, jazz, folk, blues
Occupation(s)	Musician, singer, songwriter
Instruments	Vocals, percussion, piano, keyboards, guitar, bass guitar
Years active	1996–present
Labels	Polygram, Sony, EMI, Challenge Records International
Associated acts	Hein van de Geyn, Maud Mulder, Frank Boeijen

Early life

Rood Adeo was educated at Canisius College Mater Dei, and Radboud University Nijmegen. For eight years during and afterwards his study, he co-owned a stage bar in his hometown with a view to practice in psychology, but the release of his first album Fool's Tango (1997) won him over to songwriting and performing.[5] Something of his psychology framework resonates in his lyrics, for example in the song "Paradise To Me".[6][7] At the age of five, Adeo began his classical piano training, which is reflected in songs such as "King in Yellow" (based on Pachelbel's Canon) and "To Be A Man" (opening with the postlude of Chopin's Nocturne in B major, Op. 32, No. 1). Though Adeo often mentions his affinity for the works of Ludwig van Beethoven, Nat King Cole, Frank Sinatra, Nina Simone, and J.J. Cale,[8] he presumably has been influenced the most by the music of Tom Waits and Robert Wyatt.[4][9] As an hommage to Waits, Adeo debuts on stage at the 1995 edition of the Midsummer Blues Festival Wijchen as frontman of his band 'Nighthawks at the Diner', referring to Waits' 1975 live album.[10]

1990's

On record, Rood Adeo debuts with his Nighthawks at the Diner-album Fool's Tango in 1997,[11] introducing co-composers Frank de Kleer and Bob Wisselink. Fool's Tango is rewarded 'demo of the month' in MusicMaker,[12] the foremost musicians' magazine in The Netherlands. The album draws the attention of jazz-bassist and A&R executive Hein van de Geyn, who paves the way to its release on the jazz-label Challenge Records International.Fool's Tango also features Fay Lovsky singing a duet with Adeo on "You Invented Me". In 1998, Adeo is being asked by Sony/Philips to record with the newly developed digital recording system Super Audio CD.[13] This project results in his second Nighthawks at the Diner-album Walkin' On Eggs,[14] published bij Challenge/Polygram. In August 1998, Adeo's Nighthawks at the Diner wins the Public and Press Award at the Sopot International Song Festival in Poland.[15][16][17] In 1999, the single How About The Next Millennium[18] is being released and Walkin' On Eggs again presented at the Funkausstellung in Berlin. Adeo's ballad "To Be A Man" is released on the Polish Wroclaw Theatre Festival jubilee album Kronika XX Przegladu Piosenki Aktorskiej[19] by Luna Music with amongst others, Nick Cave and Cesaria Evora. Concerts at the Baltic Song Contest, Sweden[20] and the Wrocław International Theatre Festival, Poland follow shortly after. At this time, Adeo's songs are being described as 'the range between Chopin and a film noir-soundtrack'.[21]

2000's

In 2000, Adeo records Rood & Emanuel: Retrato, a Portuguese nontraditional fado-album, in collaboration with fado-singer Emanuel Pessanha. For the Weill-edition of the Theatre Festival 2000 in Wroclaw, Rood & Nighthawks at the Diner arrange four Kurt Weill songs. Rood Adeo's versions of "I'm a Stranger Here Myself" and "Lost in the Stars" appear on his albums Transit Cellophane and Perfect Life. In 2002, Adeo's third Nighthawks at the Diner-album Transit Cellophane was released on the label NWR published by NWR/EMI[22] .[23] In August 2005, he performs in Denmark and records Jessie Mae Robinson's "The Other Woman" for the Nina Simone tribute album Greetings From Nijmegen,[8][24] on which he also accompanies Dutch Idols finalist Maud Mulder on "Everything Must Change". Adeo's live performances are critically acclaimed,[25] with reviews emphasising on Adeo's timing and expressive, dynamic piano play.[26][27] Though Adeo refers to his lyrics as being non-political, he withdrew his contributions as a school music teacher in 2010, when the Dutch populist politician Geert Wilders actively participated in the Dutch minority cabinet 2010–2012, stating: 'I don't want to receive payments from the Department of Education, as long as it’s being run by individuals behaving like CEO's of an absurd, onworthy political hedge fund.'[28] After the dismantling of the cabinet Adeo resumed his teaching career. In March 2006, Rood & Nighthawks at the Diner close down the Night of Poetry Festival at Vredenburg Concert Hall Utrecht. "Observant Spectator" is being released on the DVD Dichters in Woord en Beeld (Poets in Word and Frame). In May 2006, Adeo composes the music for Frank Boeijen's song "Verloren Stad" (Lost City), which is being released on the DVD As.[29] In Greece, his song "The Waltzes, The Polkas, And The Sad Songs" is being released on the 2008 album Muzine Three Red & White Mood.[30] In 2009, Adeo records the ROOD & Nighthawks at the Diner-album Perfect Life[31] in collaboration with producer Loek Schrievers. Perfect Life also features bariton Ernst Daniël Smid singing a duet with Adeo on "Baby Don't You Like My New Tattoo".

2010's

In 2012, Mindful Indifference is being released on the label Supertracks/Challenge Records International.[32] On this album, Adeo started experimenting as sound-engineer, producing and recording his songs single-miced, playing most of the instruments himself.[33] Music magazine OOR considers the album “an important milestone in the interesting music firmament”.[34] In March 2018, Rood Adeo switches to the record label Kroese Records, who releases Voluntary Intakes in October 2018.[35] The album, first of a diptych, comprises seventeen tracks and contains previous, new and live recordings. According to Adeo, the title alludes to the desired character of assumptions. As he explains in a 2018 interview:[36] “Every intake, every assumption, should be voluntary. Our way of life has become a labyrinth of involuntary assumptions, built on the dung hill of older unconscious assumptions. The believes in a God, legal systems, universal human rights: they’re all assumptions. Voluntary or involuntary, it’s all fiction. If we want to pursue mental or spiritual freedom, we have to start chucking assumptions overboard.”

Discography

Albums

• Fool's Tango (1997)
• Walkin' On Eggs (1998)
• Walkin' On Eggs – SACD (1999)
• How About The Next Millennium (1999/2000)
• Rood & Emanuel: Retrato (2000)
• Transit Cellophane (2002)
• Perfect Life (2009)
• Mindful Indifference (2012)
• Voluntary Intakes (2018)

Other albums

• Kronika XX Przegladu Piosenki Aktorskiej, 'To Be A Man', Poland (1999)
• Greetings From Nijmegen, 'The Other Woman' (2005)
• Dichters In Woord En Beeld DVD, 'Observant Spectator' (2006)
• As, with Frank Boeijen, 'Verloren Stad' (2006)
• De Ontmoeting, 'Heaven and Hell' (2008)
• Muzine 03 White Mood, 'The Waltzes, The Polkas, And The Sad Songs', Greece (2008)

Compilations

• The Beauty Of It All (2010)

Other contributions

• Piano and vocals on Deborah Jean Weitzman's Beneath Your Moon (2002)
• Piano on 'Cidade Amor Saudade', with Quatro Ventos on Barco De Papel (2003)
• Piano on 'Everything Must Change', with Maud Mulder on Greetings From Nijmegen (2005)

References

Footnotes

1. Lardenoye, Fred (1 May 2013). "Rood Adeo: Mindful Indifference". QV (in Dutch). Nijmegen: QVuitgeverij. 20 (5): 35. Retrieved 26 October 2014.
2. "Nighthawks at the Diner" (in Dutch). Beeld en Geluid. Retrieved 24 October 2014.
3. van der Maas, Hans (1 November 2012). "Rood Adeo: Mindful Indifference". OOR (in Dutch). Amsterdam: Argo Media Groep. 28 (11): 77.
4. Jongeneelen, Willem (1 January 2010). "Rood & Nighthawks at the Diner". Fret (in Dutch). 17: 09. Retrieved 24 October 2014.
5. Ouwehand, Ton (19 November 1998). "Een stem als een dieselmotor" [A voice like a diesel]. De Twentsche Courant/Tubantia (in Dutch). Netherlands: Royal Wegener NV.
6. Lardenoye, Fred (10 January 2004). "Rood Adeo: Mindful Indifference". QV (in Dutch). Nijmegen: QVuitgeverij. 20 (5): 35. Retrieved 26 October 2014.
7. "Paradise To Me". allmusic. Retrieved 26 October 2014.
8. Grafe, Klaas-Jan (30 November 2005). "Impressive Hommage to Nina Simone". NPO. Retrieved 26 October 2014.
9. "Fool's Tango". Elégance (in Dutch). Amsterdam: Pelican Media: 5. 1 October 1997.
10. Megens, René (5 September 1998). "Rood & Nighthawks at the Diner slaan hun vleugels uit" [Rood & Nighthawks at the Diner spread their wings]. De Gelderlander (in Dutch). Netherlands: Royal Wegener NV.
11. "Fool's Tango". allmusic. Retrieved 24 October 2014.
12. Versteegh, Enrico (1 April 1997). "Demo Van De Maand" [Demo of the Month]. MusicMaker (in Dutch). Doetinchem: Misset Uitgeverij. 20 (4): 6.
13. "SACD List Tops 350". www.avrev.com. Audio Video Revolution. Retrieved 24 October 2014.
14. "Walkin' On Eggs". allmusic. Retrieved 24 October 2014.
15. "Historia Festivalu w Sopocie" [History of the Sopot Festival]. operalesna.sopot.pl (in Polish). Agencja Artystyczna BART. 22 August 1998. Retrieved 26 October 2014.
16. Hill, Andy (16 September 1998). "I Sat on a Euro Pop Jury". The Independent. London, UK. Retrieved 26 October 2014.
17. Bouwman, Roel (1 September 1998). "Hightech kroegtijgers" [Hightech Barflies]. Fret (in Dutch). Amsterdam: SPN Amsterdam: 38. Retrieved 24 October 2014.
18. "How About The Next Millennium". A-Records. 1 June 1998. Retrieved 26 October 2014.
19. "Kronika XX Przegladu Piosenki Aktorskiej". Luna Music. Retrieved 24 October 2014.
20. van Essenburg, Han (1 April 1999). "Nighthawks at the Diner in Karlshamn, Sweden". De Muziekwereld (in Dutch). Amsterdam: Uitgeverij NTB Amsterdam. 80 (4): 32–33.
21. "Nieuwsbank" (in Dutch). Radboud University Nijmegen. 3 September 2001. Retrieved 24 October 2014.
22. "Transit Cellophane" (in Dutch). CDR Stichting Centrale Discotheek. 30 September 2002. Retrieved 27 October 2014.
23. Lamberts, Patrick (1 October 2003). "Nighthawks at the Diner at the Wisseloord Studios". MusicMaker (in Dutch). Amsterdam: Keijser 18 Mediaproducties. 26 (10): 13–18. Retrieved 26 October 2014.
24. "Greetings From Nijmegen – Tribute to Nina Simone". 28 September 2008. Retrieved 26 October 2014.
25. Verkerk, Corrie (7 May 2004). "Indescribably Beautiful" [Onbeschrijflijk mooi]. Het Parool (in Dutch). Amsterdam: Persgroep Nederland BV.
26. Engelshoven, Ton (10 January 2004). "NATD Live at CC Van Gogh". OOR (in Dutch). Nieuw Vennep: NTG. 20 (1): 64–65.
27. Boeijen, Frank (1 May 2008). "Rood Adeo". Heaven Popmagazine (in Dutch). Geldermalsen: Firmament Music BV. 10 (3): 19. Retrieved 26 October 2014.
28. van der Louw, Wim (18 November 2010). "Rood wil even geen ambtenaar zijn" [Rood doesn't want to be a civil servant for a while]. De Gelderlander (in Dutch). Netherlands: Royal Wegener NV. pp. 32–33.
29. "As". allmusic. Retrieved 24 October 2014.
30. Mitsiáki, Eléni (1 February 2008). "Nighthawks at the Diner: Transit Cellophane". QV (in Greek). Patras: Haramada Publications. 02 (3): 144. Retrieved 13 January 2015.
31. "Perfect Life". www.coasttocoast.nl. Coast To Coast. Retrieved 24 October 2014.
32. "Mindful Indifference". allmusic. Retrieved 24 October 2014.
33. "Mindful Indifference credits". allmusic. Retrieved 24 October 2014.
34. "OOR Albums Mindful Indifference". oor. Retrieved 29 October 2018.
35. "Rood Adeo's Voluntary Intakes". kroeserecords. Retrieved 29 October 2018.
36. Wetering, Inge. "Vrijwillig innemen" (PDF). beauforthuis. Retrieved 22 October 2018.

External links

• Official website