Saxophonist Ab Schaap (born Albert on 16 January 1950) graduated from Rotterdam Conservatory in 1979, after studying with Leo van Oostrom. His main instrument is the saxophone but he is a gifted clarinettist and flutist as well, making him in demand by bigbands where for he is often required to ‘double’.
He has played in top orchestras including the Skymasters, the Metropole Orchestra and the John Clayton Big Band. He also has played in the latinband Manteca (now called Nueva Manteca) and the Rotterdam Jazz Ensemble. Currently, he is a member of Peter Ypma+Eleven and the Dutch Jazz Orchestra under the direction of John Ruocco.
As a saxophonist/orchestra leader he has been working with: Bobby Shew, Slide Hampton, Frank Wess, James Moody, Clark Terry, Sarah Vaughn, Jimmy Heath, George Coleman, Cecyl Taylor, Toots Thielemans, Philip Catherine, Donald Harrison and Tommy Smith.
As a former student of Frans Elsen, Ab is a respected composer and arranger who has written for many of the above groups. He won the European Jazzcomposition award in 1992.
Since 1979, he has been teaching theory and ensembles (including the Big Band) at the Rotterdam Conservatory. After Bob Brookmeyer’s departure from the Conservatory, Ab became the artistic co-ordinator of the Jazz program till the year of 2003.