Nazomer Esther Van Hees

• 1 De Noorderzon Scheen 04:31
• 2 Ik rijd soms door de stad 03:39
• 3 Onze kerk wordt afgebroken 03:24
• 4 Zonder Bagage (de wereld heeft mij failliet verklaard) 03:31
• 5 Ik zou alles willen geven 04:24
• 6 Rozane 05:14
• 7 Alles (wat voorbij is) 04:34
• 8 Ik in m'n hoek 04:05
• 9 Speelgoedmannetje 02:14
• 10 Burgemeester Beekmanlaan 04:13
• 11 Nazomer 01:29
• 12 Het Lachen 05:30
• Total Runtime 46:48

Info for Nazomer

A tribute to the Dutch-language art song – from Adèle Bloemendaal to Drs. P (and with a Flemish accent)

‘Nazomer’ is the new album and song programme by singer Esther Van Hees (1991), in which she pays tribute to the Dutch-language art song, full of reverence and admiration for the craftsmanship of great role models such as Adèle Bloemendaal, Wim Sonneveld, Willem Nijholt, Gerard Cox and Jenny Arean.

Esther is originally from Belgium and moved to the Netherlands at the age of eighteen to study at the conservatoire. She has been building her singing career from Amsterdam for years.

Last autumn 2025, she could scarcely believe her ears when Cor Bakker announced on the radio that she had won the Edison Jazz – Nationaal Vocaal with her duo Blue Sands.

Esther first discovered her idols at a young age through old films and her parents’ CD collection. Artists such as Judy Garland, Wim Sonneveld, Adèle Bloemendaal, Willem Nijholt and Doris Day quickly became her great role models, each with their own unique voice and approach to the lyrics, which drew on their own life stories. As a teenager, she sang constantly and was heard on the street by the conductor of a local big band, who invited her to perform as a soloist.

The album features, amongst other tracks, ‘The Way We Were’ (made famous by Barbra Streisand) in a sensitive translation by Friso Wiegersma (lyricist and partner of Wim Sonneveld).

Esther also sings the track ‘Ik zou alles willen geven’, a lesser-known love song that Rita Hovink had recorded two weeks before her far too early death.

Although it never became a hit, for Esther it is one of the most beautiful songs from Hovink’s repertoire. ‘Nazomer’, the title track of the album, is an unknown piece by Drs. P, which Jenny Arean sang on television in the 1970s and which only resurfaced in the archives years later. Songs by Ramses Shaffy, Kees van Kooten, Lennart Nijgh and Ruud Box can also be heard on “Nazomer”.

On the record, Esther is accompanied by top musicians: Bert van den Brink (piano), Tim Langedijk (guitar), Jeroen Vierdag (bass) and Marcel Sierierse (drums).

On ‘Nazomer’, Esther sings with great joy in her mother tongue, performing a selection from the treasure trove of Dutch songs – albeit with a Flemish accent.

Esther van Hees, vocals
Bert van den Brink, piano
Tim Langedijk, guitar
Jeroen Vierdag, bassist, arranger
Marcel Serierse, drums

Esther van Hees
(Turnhout, 1991) is a Belgian jazz singer who is mainly based in the Netherlands. Her voice was compared by *De Volkskrant* to that of Norah Jones, whilst *Jazzism* detected a hint of Eva Cassidy. In 2025, she won the National Jazz Edison Award for Vocals with her duo Blue Sands, with her imagination and virtuosity cited as key qualities.

As a child, Esther fell in love with jazz and cabaret music through old films and her parents’ records. As a teenager, she was discovered whilst singing in the street and was offered a permanent soloist role with a local big band. At the age of eighteen, she moved to the Netherlands to study jazz singing and in 2013 she won the Conservatorium Talent Award.

In 2025, she won a Jazz Edison in the National Vocal category with her new album *Blue Sands*, which was awarded four stars by *De Volkskrant*. That same year, she performed at the North Sea Jazz Festival with the Jazz Orchestra of the Concertgebouw.

Esther also has a passion for Dutch-language ballads and enjoys performing songs by composers such as Ruud Bos and Drs. P. In 2022, she was the soloist in a tribute to Ruud Bos at the Concertgebouw.

Her album ‘Nazomer’, due for release in September 2026, will feature gems from the worlds of cabaret and variety, accompanied by a talented band.

This album contains no booklet.