The Jazz Orchestra of the Concertgebouw belongs to the absolute top big bands in Europe. It presents a strong vision on and respect for music in all its forms, played by a world-class rhythm section and brass sections. The JOC bears the name of the Royal Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, the only concert hall in the world that, in addition to a classical orchestra, also has a jazz orchestra attached to its name.

International
The JOC has worked with a wide variety of international guest soloists, from Roy Hargrove to Chick Corea, Branford Marsalis to Oleta Adams, Jose James to Jazzmen Horn. Having toured all over the world at all the large festivals and in the most beautiful jazz clubs - from Birdland New York to North Sea Jazz Capetown, from Tokyo to Moscow and from Rio to Budapest - the JOC is also highly respected internationally.
Find out about our current international projects

Our music
On our solo albums our musicians play at the top of their abilities and we play a significant role in the development of contemporary jazz. Our latest albums Crossroads, Jazz Influencers and Threnody were widely praised by the press.
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Our programs
The JOC connects through jazz. We are on top of the latest developments in the scene and work with emerging talents, but also pay tribute to the rich jazz history, spanning more than a hundred years of music. We dive into adventurous crossovers, varying from soul to kaseko and from tambu to pop. 

Education & talent
We keep jazz music alive and kicking. We are constantly committed to introducing a broad and diverse group of young people to jazz. We do this  by interacting with kids and young people, from 8 year onwards, through various talent development projects such as the JOC Boot Camp program, and with students from several Dutch conservatories (JOC Big Band Academy). 

Awards 
The JOC won two Edison awards in the Jazz&World category: one for the album Blues for the Date (2010) and one for Crossroads (2019). Blues for the Date was also named one of the best large ensemble albums of 2010 by the authoritative New York magazine All About Jazz from New York.

The founder of the JOC, Henk Meutgeert, was awarded the Bird Award by the North Sea Jazz Festival in 1999, and was the first Dutch person to receive the Concertgebouw Jazz Award, issued by the Royal Concertgebouw Amsterdam. Due to his long and impressive record of service and his major role in Dutch jazz music Meutgeert was appointed Knight in the Order of the Dutch Lion in 2022.