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HOW IT ALL BEGAN
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Wicked Jazz Sounds is a versatile music platform that connects the sensations of jazz with the energy of contemporary dance music. Our aim is to spread quality music and make it accessible to a broad audience. We host weekly club nights in Amsterdam featuring an energetic improv collaboration between DJs, live musicians to a diverse community of party people, all dancing with a smile. Additionally, we hold a weekly radio slot over at Red Light Radio and occasionally join Winfried Baaijen’s Woonkamer at NPO Radio 6 Soul & Jazz, selecting a wide variety of soulful grooves from an ever-developing music scene.
In 2002, the like-minded DJ Phil Horneman and Manne van der Zee joined forces to organize parties that represented their love for jazz music in its widest sense. The concept quickly grew into a creative platform for DJs, live musicians and recording artists. Wicked Jazz Sounds has since become an understanding in the Amsterdam music scene. With an impressive roster of resident DJs to its disposal, the weekly club night at Sugarfactoryguarantees fresh sounds, good vibes and all smiles on the dance floor. DJs like Phil Horneman, Leroy Rey and D-Rok play together with live musicians like Berenice van Leer, Gilian Baracs, Floris van der Vlugt and Paul van Kessel to create a unique musical energy on the spot, jamming on a mixture of jazz, hip-hop, soul, funk, broken beat, house, drum & bass and beyond.
Prominent venues all around the Netherlands caught up on the hype, as clubs like Paradiso, Melkweg, Tivoli, 013, Paard van Troje, and even festivals like the prestigious North Sea Jazz, Lowlands, The Hague Jazz, Extrema Outdoor, Eurosonic/Noorderslag, Loveland and Dance Valley have provided space for the Wicked Jazz Sounds family. A Wicked Jazz Sounds block party at the Noordermarkt in Amsterdam during Queensday has been a repeated success for years.
We further expanded our musical message on the airwaves with 2 weekly radio slots on Radio 6 Soul & Jazz, in which Phil Horneman selected the finest grooves, old and new. To confirm our status as a caterer of contemporary dance music, we have also ventured into releasing new music by a variety of talented artists. At first through several compilation albums with existing music, mixed by the resident DJs of Wicked Jazz Sounds.
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Later also with our very own Wicked Jazz Sounds Band, comprising of musicians from the Wicked Jazz Sounds family and releasing the smash album ‘The Biggest Sin’ in 2009. The band continued as Wicked Jazz Connection with a slightly different line-up to release yet another smash (self-titled) album in 2014. Wicked Jazz Sounds also helped kick start the carreer of the Netherlands Antilles-born singer Kris Berry by releasing her debut album Marbles in 2012. She went on to win the Radio 6 Talent award, toured through the Netherlands and performed shows in London and Berlin. One of the live musicians who has been part of the Wicked Jazz Sounds family for over 10 years, Paul van Kessel, was part of the Wicked Jazz Sounds Band and recorded a duet with Amber Gomaa on the Wicked Jazz Connection album. He released his first EP through the Wicked Jazz Sounds imprint and continues to be a successful jazz singer.
Festival
In 2015 it was time for our very own festival. The Wicked Jazz Sounds festival was a joint effort between our family and the jazz club organizationNightcare, held at the Noorderlicht café at NDSM wharf and which presented 2 stages with a surprising mix of jazz, hiphop, funk, soul, disco and latin. The stage hosted by Nightcare featured young and talented jazz artists with dinner and drinks served. We presented our characteristic sound on the Wicked Jazz Sounds stage together with our trusted family of live musicians, along with an additional line-up of renowned artists like Gosto,Mo Kolours, MC Melodee, Mr. Mendel, Smoove & Turrell and Gallowstreet. Our dedication to music runs deep. We feel it our responsibility to bring you the music that makes you dance with a smile, and we will continue doing so for as long as we are able to.
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