Arno Hagenaars


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Arno Hagenaars JBM: When did you first develop your interest in music? AH: When I was 11 or 12 my hobby was to play soccer. I was a goal keeper and one of my friends played the trombone and he had records of a popular jazz band here in the Netherlands. My friend had taken trombone lessons and decided to start a little band. There was no rhythm instrument and they needed a banjo. My mother took me to another town to purchase a banjo. The owner, Joop Hendriks, was a famous saxophone player and he sold me a tenor banjo. It was fortunate that he played traditional jazz music and knew what type of banjo I would need. The instrument was a "Maya" banjo from Japan. JBM: What influenced you to take an interest in music? It couldn't have been just your soccer friends. AH: It was mostly the music in the community. There was always some type of music being played. I didn't come from a musical family. I only had one uncle that played music and he played rock on a guitar. JBM: When your soccer team band folded, after one rehearsal, what kept you going? Were you committed to the banjo because your mother had purchased it for you? AH: That's exactly right. I had a lot of records to listen to and there was also a famous banjo player by the name of Arie Ligthart that I listened to as well. He was a member of the Dutch Swing College Band which was a popular band at the time. He was a very good solo player and played a few of the Pete Mandell solos. When I decided that I liked the music and wanted to play the banjo it wasn't a big step to contact the local banjo player and take lessons. I learned my chords by playing in Dixieland bands and the next step in my learning was to learn how to improvise.		JBM: How did you learn to improvise? AH: I started with a record by the "Banjo Kings." They played both chords and single string lines so I tried to imitate what I heard. I was learning to copy what they were playing and then add my own improvisations. At the same time I discovered the music of Pete Mandell. I obtain the printed music of Take your Pick and Get Going and those were the first solos I mastered on the banjo. Arno with-Zjarretel-1987 The first person that helped me the most with my playing was Tom Stuip. He was the only professional banjo player in the Netherlands at the time. It was quite a revelation the first time I saw all of his U.S. banjos in his home. He also was the one that introduced me to all of the great banjo players from the 1920s as well as to contemporary players like Buck Kelly and Buddy Wachter. JBM: Didn't you also correspond with Bill Triggs? AH: I have books full of correspondence from Arno with Tom Stuip - Castle Breda - 2004