Tijs Klaassen (1993) is one of the household names on the vibrant Amsterdam jazz scene. He picked up the double bass at the age of 19. He studied at the Amsterdam Conservatory and as part of an exchange studied in the US, taking private lessons with a.o. legendary Ron Carter. Adhocism is his 3rd quintet album (feat. Mo van der Does, Matthias Van den Brande, Floris Kappeyne and Wouter Kühne), this time blending electronics with acoustic instruments. Adhocism is a late 60s term from architecture, referring to a method characterized by actions and decisions chosen to fulfill immediate goals. It represents the instant decision making that improvising jazz musicians do all the time.

Love remains…In 1993, three musicians from Sweden, Esbjörn Svensson, Dan Berglund and Magnus Öström formed the band e.s.t.. Svensson and Öström had known each other ever since their first steps into music as children. Neither of them could have anticipated that e.s.t. would become the most influential band in European jazz of the noughties. And when the band formed they probably didn't think they were particularly ‘jazz’ either; all they wanted to do was to play the music which united their passions: rock, pop, classical, folk, improvisation. In the following 15 years, e.s.t. would play thousands of concerts worldwide, release ten studio albums and several live recordings, win awards, gold discs. We all know how the story ends.

The Iiro Rantala HEL Trio is capable of incredible contrasts, and therein lies its appeal. As a pianist, Rantala can take the breath away both with his lightness of touch and the grace of his melodic lines. But then he can transform himself into other, very different characters: there is one who inspires laughter with his rummaging in the piano, another whose pathos, openness and honesty touch every heart. He has a baroque demeanour, his playing is full of relish, so that it only takes a few notes and he already has the audience on his side.

In the past four years, Fabian Dudek received a lot of attention, especially with his quartet (with Felix Hauptmann, Fabian Arends, David Helm). Already their debut release in 2019 and the subsequent tour, sponsored by the Musikfonds, were met with enthusiastic responses.

"Intermediate tones are only cramps in class struggle," the folksinger/songwriter with left-wing politics Franz-Josef Degenhardt once criticized.

Prolific Danish drummer Emil de Waal has come to be known for his unique and personal contributions to a wide variety of musical projects in jazz, pop, rock, and electronica, including Kalaha, Baghdad Dagblad, Maluba Orchestra, and his own quartet to name a few. Well versed in the art of collaboration, his new record is his first solo undertaking, combining his jazz musicianship with his affinity for the off-kilter and electronically manipulated.

His compositions are ambitious, idiosyncratic and imaginative. Nevertheless, the purely physical component of making music is an essential factor for Jonathan Salvi. "When I play the vibraphone, I dance!" This is also conveyed when you experience him live, as people tell him time and again. The impression of dancing is reinforced by the fact that the Swiss musician always plays with four mallets. His excellent technique goes hand in hand with improvisational brilliance. It was long overdue for the international jazz world to discover his class.

The ensemble is all powerhouse performers but, like a stream is one stream with one name below the confluence, though they may lend their distinctive voices, this is a singularly cohesive unit that subsumes individual style.

Distant Skies, We Dream is an enchanting album by Fabian Dudek, released by Traumton / Indigo. This mesmerizing collection of music takes listeners on a journey through dreamy landscapes and distant horizons.

"The Long Wait" is a musical expression of living in the complicated, fast-paced, yet always interesting metropolis that is New York City. The album’s title has a double meaning for me in that it was written during the long period of isolation we collectively experienced together in 2020, but also became the title track due to the extended length of time it took to release this music.

The seventh album from Splashgirl, “More Human” is made in collaboration with singer/sound artist Robert Aiki Aubrey Lowe, and producer Randall Dunn. The album title, “More Human”, explores the role of humanity in a society increasingly reliant on technology, where artists face direct competition from artificial intelligence.

Benjamin Koppel is a superb Danish musician from an illustrious music family. He is all about music—of just about any kind. He is known for his versatility and virtuosity as a saxophonist and composer. His approach is thoughtful, not manic, and he glides effortlessly from phrase to phrase when he pours out blazing bebop licks, quick and smooth.

El Comité, the group of virtuoso Cuban jazz soloists made up of Carlos Sarduy (trumpet), Irving Acao (tenor & soprano saxophone), Harold López-Nussa (piano, keyboards), Gastón Joya (double bass, electric bass), Yaroldy Abreu (percussion) and Rodney Barreto (drums), present their second album 'Carrousel'. Featuring Ibrahim Maalouf and Pedrito Martinez.

'Fauréver' or the double intention of Enrico Pieranunzi, in recording this 'jazz' tribute to Gabriel Fauré, to honor the eternal beauty of the works of this great composer while emphasizing the need, in these new modern times, to continue to dream. Over the years Enrico Pieranunzi has developed a relationship of silent complicity with Fauré's music. Every time he played his barcarolles or nocturnals or when he listened to his chamber music he was left breathless. This is why Bonsaï Music, after producing the two previous albums of the trio he formed with André Ceccarelli and Diego Imbert, immediately agreed to record 'Fauréver'. In this new project, Enrico Pieranunzi wanted to honor the upcoming 100th anniversary of the disappearance of Gabriel Fauré.

Imperfect Bread are one of the most exciting new projects emerging from the Amsterdam jazz scene. They were prize winners at the Keep An Eye International Jazz Awards 2023 and leading Dutch saxophonist Ben van Gelder thinks of the band as ‘Eclectic, colorful and surprising’. Led by British drummer / composer Rod Oughton, the band fuses the British songwriter tradition with Dutch free jazz to create a brand new sound.