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The life of Clarence Bekker has as many twists and turns as his vocal and choreographic pirouettes. The story of this resident musician of Jamboree, who every Thursday turns the club into a real party, well deserves an in-depth interview. He touched success with dance music in the early 90s, with such danceable titles as It's a loving thing and Send me an angel. Then he was CB Milton. He was barely 20. And a deep crisis brought him to Barcelona, where he worked as a street musician. "I traveled all over the world until 9/11 (the day of the attacks on the Twin Towers) I returned to Amsterdam and there I realized that I was not happy. With dissatisfaction and boredom, drugs arrived. I had money and it was easy for me to get them. But they didn't bring me happiness. Finally I understood that I had to look for that within myself. I thought a good way to achieve it was by performing in the streets. So I came to Barcelona and everything changed. I started to investigate who I was. Why I thought, said and felt things. It took me a long time to realize what I had to give up. And today I think I already know who I am. And that's why I'm here, celebrating Christmas in Barcelona."
It was in Barcelona where this artist, born in Suriname and naturalized Dutch, experienced the transformative power of music on a personal level. And on a professional levelCelebrating and sharing it in a big way. On Tuesday, December 18, he was carried out on shoulders from the Teatre Tívoli with A Christmas Story. The show with which he put the icing on the cake of the program with which the promoter Mas i Mas is celebrating its silver anniversary in charge of the Jamboree room.
It was in Barcelona where this artist, born in Surinam and naturalized Dutch, experienced the transformative power of music on a personal level. And on a professional level. First with the group 08001, open to all artists from different parts of the world who arrived daily in El Raval (the name of the group corresponds to its postal code). And then with Playing for change, being part of this also interracial project when it was in its embryonic stage. It was later when renowned artists such as Keith Richards, Bono, Manu Chao, Lila Downs, Carlos Vives, Andrés Calamaro... joined.
Clarence was playing in Portal de l'Àngel when the American producer Mark Johnson approached him and spoke to him for the first time about Playing for change. "I didn't understand anything he was saying. And I little suspected what it would mean to me," he admits. The fact is that he suddenly found himself singing in a squatted venue with a mobile recording team the classic Stand by me. "I signed a kind of contract, but I didn't think it had much future. Two years later, when I had forgotten about it, I received a DVD with the song in my mailbox. 'It's fantastic!', I thought.'" The video has over 123 million views.
Johnson called him later to tour with the other performers (from Nepal, Africa, Ireland...) who joined the recording (with headphones, they listened to the previous ones and incorporated their part). And, with them, he continued embarking on tours across all continents.
Now, his place/home is Barcelona, where he resides. Specifically, and it couldn't be otherwise, in the El Raval neighborhood. "I remember the years I grew up in Rotterdam, which is still the port of Holland and a town with many immigrants (...) living in a place with so much cultural diversity makes me feel at home. Happy"For Clarence Bekker, his incorporation intoPlaying for changehas been key, beyond the springboard it has been for his career. BecausePlaying for changeis also a foundation that builds music schools around the planet. The first, Ntonga Music School, opened in 2008 in the Gugulethu neighborhood, on the outskirts of Cape Town, South Africa. Music that breaks down borders and brings people closer, regardless of social or political status... Musicians connected by change.
Since childhood, Bekker has known how to turn songs into escape valves. "When I was 11, my father died and we moved to Europe. I was cared for by a widowed mother with five children. We changed countries to live in. And singing helped me escape certain thoughts, to put my soul somewhere. Now, his place/home is Barcelona, where he resides. Specifically, and it couldn't be any other way, in the El Raval neighborhood. "I remember the years I grew up in Rotterdam, which is still the port of Holland and a town with many immigrants. I have always been surrounded by people from all over the world. So living in a place with so much cultural diversity makes me feel at home. Happy."
Clarence Bekker's Thursday gigs, two sets, at Jamboree started in September 2017. And he still enjoys them like the first day. "Something I really like is that while I entertain them, they, the people, entertain me. It's like a game"Clarence Bekker combines styles as diverse as soul, funky, reggae, jazz with absolute normality... And he does covers of classics that are recognized at first listen, as well as including pieces of his own authorship, converted into classics of his repertoire, such asMr. Policeman. We asked him about his relationship with authority, if he suffered the treatment he denounces in this lyric. "Of course - he replies -. Several times and in different ways. I am a black person, what do you expect? I am always on the front line of crime... And not only me, all my brothers have experienced similar situations. How many times have they put me in the police car, taken me to the police station and, upon verifying that I had done nothing, they have apologized. In Barcelona itself, I was sitting on a corner and there was a beer can next to me. A police officer approached me, picked up the can, looked at me and asked me if it was mine. When I told her no, that it was trash, she got angry, asked for reinforcements and again I found myself inside a police car...".
Clarence Bekker's Thursday appointments, two shows, at the Jamboree began in September 2017. And he continues to enjoy them as much as the first day. "Something I really like is that while I entertain them, they, the people, entertain me. It's like a game. Something very cool that can only arise in places like this emblematic club in Plaça Reial. The audience always brings me new things. New thoughts. And I like to let them participate actively. When I sing old songs and I see that they know them, a feeling of union is created that, even if it lasts for the five minutes of the piece, I value very much. I am lucky to have a very loyal and affectionate audience. Without them I would be nothing. And they range from 1 to 100 years old. Wonderful!".
"Imagine a life without being able to move or dance with someone. It's like exchanging energies through the body. It's like sex!".To his charisma, overwhelming energy and ability to connect, we must add his dancing skills. How, when and with whom did he learn? "With my grandmother and my mother. They told me: 'you have to dance', so I've been doing it since a very young age. In my family, everyone is a good dancer. The other day I was talking to my brother and I told him that, that he danced very well, and he very seriously told me, 'no, no, I'm a DJ [laughs]. I love to dance. Imagine a life without being able to move or dance with someone. It's like exchanging energies through the body. It's like sex!".
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