| Gerard Cornielje plays a hot saxophone. He's been entertaining guests
at the Holiday Inn for three years and recently decided to become independent. "I've
had a great time working with the Holiday Inn team but now I want to concentrate
more on writing poety and playing music that is not necessarily the right choice
for an international hotel," states Gerard. Gerard is descended from
a French royal family that emigrated to Holland after the French revolution. His
ancestor, Pierre Corneille wrote Le Cid, but the young Gerard chose the saxophone
at a young age as his art. He was immediately attracted to jazz sax and studied
the music of Dexter Gordon, Sonny Rollins, Charlie Parker and Cannonball Adderley
at the Arnhem Conservatory. While not playing music, he writes poetry. He
has had five books of his poetry published in his native Dutch language. "I
realize if I wrote in English, I'd have a broader audience but my feelings and
thoughts are very connected to my native language," shares Gerard. "I
try to make an impressionist painting with words. I think certain words create
certain feelings. I like to reach my reader's basic instincts." He does the same with his saxophone. Gerard practices several hours
every day as he feels there's always some new area to explore with his music. While
he has been delighting his audience at the Holiday Inn and the Safari Pub, Gerard
plans to return to his poetry as well as choose special occasions to play the
kind of music that makes him happy. "I'm working on a new book of poetry
using haiku form and want to include this in a book about Japanese jazz which
will combine my two main artistic interests," he smiles. "And I've applied
to Stanford University for an intensive jazz course with Sonny Rollins. It's all
pretty exciting." Click Here for more information about Holiday
Inn Resort Phuket
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Inn Resort Phuket | 
