Jazz scientists agree: Kid Dynamite was one of the most important players in the early jazz scene in the Netherlands. The man who was born in Surinam in 1911 as Arthur Parsius came as a stowaway aboard the ship De Cottica at the age of seventeen, and soon rolled into the music on the rugged Amsterdamse Zeedijk. Because Americans were better in the market than Surinamese, he took on the American-sounding
… alter ego Kid Dynamite. Despite the opposition from the authorities, Kid grew into a sensation. That was mainly on stage, because Parsius made few recordings. The songs on this CD are mainly radio recordings plus two 78 rpm records that he released in 1957 and 1958 on the Telefunken label. You hear an unmistakable Caribbean accent in Kid Dynamite's raw swing, which keeps moving the hips for years to come. The CD closes with a tribute by the Suri jazz group Fra Fra Sound, who perform five songs by Parisius. If this CD proves anything, it is that Kid Dynamite's legendary status is justified. (PdK)more
