Yellowjackets

On 16 May 2026 Yellowjackets play at Metropool in Hengelo. The American quartet, formed in late 1970s Los Angeles around keyboardist Russell Ferrante, developed from Robben Ford’s backing band into an independent voice within jazz fusion. Their hallmark: compact grooves, clear themes and a harmonic richness that ties electric jazz to funk and R&B without losing the pulse of rock and African‑American music.

Live, that blend sounds like a conversation between arrangement and improvisation. Ferrante provides the backbone on keys, with saxophonist Bob Mintzer and drummer Will Kennedy as trusted partners; the bassist completes the quartet with a solid, melodic role. The repertoire traces a line through the catalogue, from the self‑titled 1981 debut via Greenhouse and Timeline to Parallel Motion (2022), where the band brings the fusion language closer to the idiom of a contemporary acoustic quartet.

Expect a set that alternates tightly defined grooves with open passages in which themes return, shift and open up for solos. Old and new material take on a current form, driven by timing, tone and interaction.