Norman

Tonight I had the pleasure of photographing the album launch of my friend Giel's band, Wicked Jazz Connection. The event was held in the big hall of the Paradiso in Amsterdam, an incredible venue. I arrived early to watch some of the sound check and rehearsal to get a bit of an idea of the staging and lighting, and to shoot some behind-the-scenes shots. I actually think this part of the evening is much more interesting than the actual performance, it all moves pretty slowly and methodically but you can see the excitement building, with smiles and laughs, relaxed and stressful moments.

This is Norman Kapoyos, during his mic check. He sings lead vocals on one of my favourite tracks from the album, and has an incredible voice. There were so many photos I could have blipped from the performance, but for some reason I liked this one, there's no option to shield yourself from the spotlight once the crowd has arrived :)