The Deep River Quartet and The Netherland’s Vocal Harmony Legacy By Charlie Horner With contributions from Pamela Horner (In memory our friend, Dick Rietveld) One such singer was a 17-year-old Dutch high school student with a deep voice, named Siebe Vink. In 1968, he was invited to sing bass for the Jordan River Quartet. Sy had first heard the Golden Gate Quartet’s recording of “Shadrach” at a neighbor’s home and quickly developed an “unremitting passion for this un- precedented swinging music”. Golden Gate Quartet bass Orlandus Wilson’s vocal interpretations became an inspiration for Sybrandus to follow. In fact, Sy took the stage name “Sybrandus” Finck in honor of the Gates’ “Orlandus”. The Jordan River Quartet members were all high school students in Huis ter Heide, in the central Netherlands. For three years the group sang Gates’ in- fluenced spirituals. When leader Ben van de Wijngaard left in 1971, Sybrandus started his own group called the Deep River Quartet. Members included three former The Deep River Quartet, 2005 members of the Jordan River Quartet; Eric Suyderhoud Left to right: Sybrandus Finck, Bryan (first tenor) Otmar Kortram, (second tenor) and Sybran- Sporkslede, Ace Vincent, Dick Rietveld. dus Finck (bass), along with newcomer Ton Eykelen- boom (baritone). Though the music we love originated from Afri- In the early years, the Deep River Quartet’s rep- can American spirituals, the United States has no mo- ertoire consisted only of African American spirituals nopoly on great vocal harmony. and gospel songs. As with many American quartets, the With its unique blend of vocal harmony, the Deep River Quartet began singing in church. By 1972 Deep River Quartet evolved into one of the premier en- tertaining ensembles in Europe. The Netherlands-based group, whose career has spanned more than 40 years, was equally adept at vocal interpretations of Jazz, Spiri- tuals, R&B and Soul classics. With 22 albums to their credit, the Deep River Quartet not only sang all over the Netherlands, Germany, Belgium, Sweden, Denmark, Finland and Switzerland, but also appeared in Great Britain, Indonesia, India, Singapore and the Dutch An- tilles. They’ve been favorites at the North Sea Jazz Fes- tival and the Isle of Bute Jazz Festival in Scotland. One of their TV specials received the highest rating ever awarded to a musical program, in the history of Dutch television. The origins of the Deep River Quartet are tied the European music scene of sixty years ago. As rock & roll music took hold in the United States in the 1950’s, more traditional African-American quartets found ref- uge in the European audiences who were still receptive to their singing. The Golden Gate Quartet, Ink Spots, Delta Rhythm Boys, Deep River Boys and Mills Brothers all toured Europe regularly with some even relocating there. As their popularity declined in America, these groups found huge audiences and respect in Europe. They also influenced the birth of new European vocal Picture sleeve from the Deep River Quartet’s first single, groups, singing African American spirituals and 1940’s “I Don’t Want To Set The World On Fire” style quartet songs. (From the Classic Urban Harmony Archives) 12 the Deep River Quartet had won first place in a number of important talent contests in The Netherlands. These were followed by television appearances and national recognition. In 1972, the Deep River Quartet made their first recordings for the Fontana label, an album of spirituals titled “My Lord What A Morning”. It was followed a couple years later by the album, “Get Right With God” on the Free label. Second tenor Otmar Kortram had been the first to leave the Deep River Quartet, quitting to join the clergy in the United States. Baritone Ton Eykelenboom also left for the USA, to work in the music industry. The quartet’s second record was made in 1976 with a new line-up: Eric Suyderhoud first tenor, Kees Hendriks second tenor, Peter Mouthaan baritone and Sybrandus Finck bass. In 1979. Eric Suyderhoud left the group. [In 1983, Eric joined another popular Dutch spiritual group, the Jaffo Gate Quartet.] His replace- ment in the DRQ was a fine young tenor named Dick Rietveld. “I first heard the Mills Brothers when I was a little boy,” recalled Dick Rietveld when asked about his early influences. “My parents were fans. They played The Deep River Quartet picture sleeve records by the Mills Brothers, Ink Spots and Platters. To “Slap That Bass” My parents didn't understand a word of English, but (From the Classic Urban Harmony Archives) they sang the songs phonetically. My mother had a fine voice and her greatest joy was singing ‘Till Then’. I never heard of the Golden Gate Quartet before I joined strictly gospel at that time. We found each other by con- the Deep River Quartet. I remember, at the audition, we stantly repeating the chorus of 'Oh Happy Day' from the could hardly find one song to sing together. They al- Edwin Hawkins Singers, which had been a chart hit here ready knew I could sing, but they wanted to check the a few years earlier. I got the job!” blending of our voices. You know. I could sing 'Paper With Dick Rietveld’s influence, the Deep River Doll', ' Into Each Life' and 'Nevertheless', but they sang Quartet broadened its repertoire to include secular songs. “In 1981 we decided to enlarge our songbook with the Mills Brothers’, Ink Spots’ and Deltas’ reper- toire,” said Dick. “We made transcriptions of the songs, and by playing the records over and over. We learned to do it.” “Songs by the Ink Spots, Mills Brothers, Deep River Boys and Delta Rhythm Boys became an inex- haustible source of inspiration,” Sy added. “In 1986 we got the opportunity to perform in Denmark,” recalled Dick Rietveld. “We did an open-air concert at the Tivoli Gardens, Copenhagen, where the Mills Brothers once played. I remember walking around the auditorium a couple of times hoping to find some Mills Brothers traces. It was kind of ‘sacred ground’ to me - very special. I really admire the Mills Brothers. They where the originators. Thanks to them we could make a living singing.” Baritone Peter Mouthaan soon left the Deep River Quartet to study guitar in Amsterdam and was replaced by Walter Byker. With members now concen- trating solely on the quartet, the Deep River Quartet went professional. The 1981 line-up: consisted of Dick Rietveld first tenor, Kees Hendriks second tenor, Walter Byker baritone and Sybrandus Finck bass. Sy also played bass and Byker played guitar. In 1982, the Deep River Quartet released their The Deep River Quartet picture sleeve first vinyl single on their own D.R.Q. label. “I Don’t To “Swing Is The Thing” Want To Set The World On Fire” featured Dick’s strong (From the Classic Urban Harmony Archives) tenor lead, emulating the Ink Spots’ Bill Kenny. 13 venues throughout Europe. They were backed by a tal- ented group of musicians who toured with them, includ- ing Eric van der Luit (piano), Inigo Grimbergen (drums), Erik Robaard (bass) and Joop Lumiej (guitar). The Deeps were managed by Sy’s wife Roelie who dili- gently worked to find the group first class bookings. Through the 1990’s and first decade of the 21st Century, the Deep River Quartet issued a number of great albums on CD, including “Portrait,” “Bright Side Of The Road,” “The Best of the Deep River Quartet,” “Hark The Herald Angels Sing.” They also released two DVD’s, “Christmas in York” and “Live At The Green Pa- vilion”. All contain great renditions of spirituals, rhythm & blues, gospel, soul, jazz and traditional vocal group harmony songs. The Deep River Quartet personnel remained The Deep River Quartet, ca. 1990’s. constant until 2002 when Placido Hazel went solo. His Left to right: Sybrandus Finck, Placido Hazel, replacement was Gene Alexander. Alexander was him- Dick Rietveld, Ace Vincent self replaced by 35-year-old Bryan Sporkslede in 2005. (Courtesy of Sy & Roelie Vink) “I was born in Surinam, raised in the Nether- lands,” said Bryan. “I was already singing at the age of With the Deep River Boys now firmly estab- seven, going from door by door for some cookies. Sing- lished in Dutch show business by 1983, they signed with ing became serious fun to me when I won a singing con- Sky/Telstar Records, where they would record for the test in high school. From that point on, I’ve sung in sev- next eight years. The label was owned by Dutch singer eral cover bands and I learned to play the guitar, the and composer, Johnny Hoes, and featured mostly Dutch piano and bass guitar as well. After high school I stud- artists. ied the singing of jazz music at the Hilversum Conserva- In late 1983, the Deep River Quartet released tory in the Netherlands. After my studies I sang in an their first single for Sky Records, “Swing Is The Thing”. acappella group and several cover bands. Singing in The The record made the Dutch Top 4o charts, reaching #17 Deep River Quartet gave me the opportunity to sing in 5 weeks on the charts. It was quickly followed in 1984 beautiful songs from the heart, with great singers and with the group’s next LP, “Real McCoy,” of which great musicians and for even greater audiences than I “Swing…” was the first cut. The album was a mix of ever dreamed of.” Brian also continued to work as a spirituals and songs made famous by the Mills Brothers, vocal teacher.