First concert
My brother Ruud and I performing our first concert.
Bass
My first bass guitar.
Schoolband
My first schoolband (Illusion)with drummer Hans Verdoorn
Royal Conservatoire The Hague
At the Royal Conservatoire in The Hague where I studied from 1983 to 1989
David Murray
in 1989 I was asked to substitute fred Hopkins on a tour with David and Sunny Murray. My first international breakthrough starting a long term collaboration with both Jazz heroes. They taught me so much about Jazz and the life around it.
Scapes
My first album with my own band featuring Maarten Ornstein, Ben van den Dungen, Erik Doelman and Hans Verdoorn.
Maarten Ornstein
Maarten Ornstein and I have been playing since the very beginning of our careers. Here we are relaxing in the south of France.
Yuri Honing Trio
With Yuri Honing and Joost Lijbaart we formed the Yuri Honing Trio and toured for almost 25 years. And still we work together in different formats.
Motion Music
The album Motion Music marks my first album on my label Jazz in Motion Records and the start of another lifelong collaboration with High End sound guru Harry van Dalen.
Rima Khcheich
in 1999 the Yuri Honing Trio went on tour to Syria, Jordan and Lebanon. In Beirut we met Rima Khcheich which turned out to be another life long friend and musical compagnon.
Ack van Rooyen
Ack van Rooyen was a teacher at the Royal conservatoire and he was part of my band for some years. with this group we received an Edison for our album OP.
India
travelling with a double bass is always a challenge and sometimes you need to come up with creative solutions. The was my means of transportation in New Dehli.
Kikker Swingt!
Unexpected success followed after an invitation from the Royal Concertgebouw in Amsterdam to collaborate with Max Velthuijs. Famous author of the ‘Kikker’ Children books. This is until date my best selling album, over 10 thousand copies and millions of streams. Max was a big jazz fan, already in his 80s, but loved to perform with us.
Boy Edgar Prize
In 2003 I received the Boy Edgar Prize, a big honour. And a great delight to be able to invite rock singer Anouk for the award show.
Far East Revisited
for several years the Tony Overwater Trio worked together with the Calefax Reed Quintet in the project Far East Revisited. Inspired by Ellington’s Far East Suite, we played the suite of Ellington and newly written compositions by other composers. We travelled as much as possible in the footsteps of Ellington, Playing in the Middle East, India and China.
Said Chraibi
Said Chraibi is a master ud player from Morocco. We had the pleasure to play with him for some concerts in the Morocco and The Netherlands.
Lebanon
2007, months after one of the devastating wars between Israel en Lebanon, Rima Khcheich brought me south to her village. Between all the destruction and despair this this wall drew our attention.
Time in Jazz
An invitation to the Time in Jazz festival in Sardinia lead to a wonderful meeting and duo concert with bass player Lars Danielson.
Jungle Boldie
Jungle Boldie one of the incarnations of the same trio, Maarten Ornstein, Tony Overwater and Wim Kegel. Also known as the Maarten Ornstein Trio or the Tony Overwater Trio. 🙂
Levantasy
A new collaboration started in 2010 with Rembrandt Frerichs and Vinsent Planjer. Working together in the Tonality foundation for many years and doing many cultural crossover projects like this first one with Yoram Lachish.
Glimp/Glimpse
Ever since the Kikker project I continued to be part of many children perfomances. Absolute highlight is the multi media show Glimp/Glimpse with Lotte van Dijk and drummer Rob Kloet. A performance for toddlers that we have played all over the world and received a YAM award.
Om de oude Wereldzee
‘Om de Oude wereldzee (around the old world sea)’ is one of the many documentaries that I provided with a soundtrack. This one in particular was special and was also released as an album. It features many great musicians, Rosanne Philippens, Maarten Ornstein, Ruven Ruppik, Rembrandt Frerichs and Nizar Rohana.
Salon Joussour
The start of Salon joussour. Guest Ahmad al Khatib explains the fundaments of the Maqam system. In Salon Joussour workshops and masterclasses are combined with a dinner and a performance, enhancing the love and knowledge for music from the MENA area.
Indonesia
With the Rembrandt Trio we toured to many different countries. Here we are in the Erasmus Huis in Djakarta, Indonesia.
Show of Hands, Iran
in 2018 I was invited for a solo violone concert at the Show of Hands festival of Tehran, Iran.
Atzko Kohashi
in 2019 another valuable collaboration and dear friendship starts with Japanese pianist Atzko Kohashi. Working mainly as a duo we also partnered up with some great musicians like Angelo Verploegen, Michael Moore and Sebastiaan Kaptein.
Kayhan Kalhor
Kayhan Kalhor is an absolute master on the Iranian kamenche. together with the Rembrandt Trio we shared many magical moments on stage. Concert in Iran, Great Britain, Austria, Belgium, Turkey, France are among the countries we visited together. This photo was taken during a concert in Teheran.
Madar Ensemble
The Madar Ensemble was the first joint project with ud player Nizar Rohana. The band featured Jasser Haj Youssef on viola d’amore and Maarten Ornstein on clarinet. this picture was taken during a concert for Salon Joussour.
Hossein Alizadeh
Hossein Alizadeh is another grand master of the Persian music culture. We are very fortunate to perform and record with him. Here we play at November music for which Rembrandt Frerichs composed for cello octet, the trio and Hossein Alizadeh.
Amsterdam Andalusian Orchestra
I might be hard to spot but I am in this picture together with my friends from the Amsterdam Andalusian Orchestra.
Morgenland
Teaching has become a big part of my life as well. Next to teaching at the royal conservatoire in The Hague, I love gangs masterclasses and workshops. Here I am teaching at the Morgenland Festival in Osnabrück.
Motamedi
Mohammad Motamedi is one of those rare singers that is not only a fantastic singer but also a real improviser and band performer.
Cairo
in 2023 Atzko Kohashi and I performed at the Cairo Jazz Festival in Egypt. This picture was taken after the masterclass prior to the concert.
Iraq
one of my most memorable tours was the tour to Mosul in Iraq, for the first time since the fall of the regime a music festival was organised by Unesco. We performed with musicians from Iraq, Kurdistan and Europe.
Noor Ensemble
the Noor ensemble brings brings together musicians, from Iran, Turkey, Morocco and The Netherlands. Celebatring, Nowruz, The start of the Ramadan and the beginning of spring that happened to coincide in 2023.
Porgy
Recording session of the album Porgy, which is entirely dedicated to one song, I loves you porgy by Gershwin. With Michael Moore, Sebastiaan Kaptein, Atzko Kohashi and myself.
Peace orchestra
Yuri Honing’s Peace orchestra, harp, guitar, bass, drums and saxophone. An unusual set up with an unexpected intense sound.
