Because of their shared love for the timeless music from the American Songbook and the musical freedom that a jazz piano trio offers, they found each other in the Amsterdam Jazz Trio. With the personal contribution from the different musical backgrounds of the musicians, the trio gives the music a unique and exciting color. At the same time, the shared focus of the musicians also gives the music a particularly harmoniously interwoven overall sound, making the trio sound like one instrument.
The inspiration for the trio's music rests on the long tradition of the "classical" jazz trio marked by pianists such as Oscar Peterson, Wynton Kelly and Bill Evans, but also by Dutch pianists such as Pim Jacobs and Louis van Dijk. Like these famous names, the Amsterdam Jazz Trio offers surprising new interpretations of well-known jazz pieces. The trio pays tribute to the beautiful history of Jazz, and at the same time it can be heard that in the 21st century this form of jazz music still has an important place in the music world.
photo by: Roy Beusker
Jochem Braat
Jochem Braat is an eclectic and versatile musician. His piano playing reflects the breadth of his artistic influences, ranging from a musical upbringing by his swing-playing father, to his own discovery of singer-songwriters, Brazilian music, film music and the broad and varied canon of the jazz tradition. After studying clarinet for six years his interest turned to the piano and its capacity for self-contained solo performance. He went on to earn a Bachelor’s degree in jazz piano at the Conservatorium of Amsterdam and a Master’s degree with his teacher Bert van den Brink at the conservatory of Utrecht. Jochem finished his studies in 2016 after receiving an extraordinary 9 (A+) for his piano playing. Over the years he has studied with, among others, Danilo Rea, Barry Harris, Jason Lindner and Stefano Bollani.
Jochem’s piano playing encompasses a variety of styles, among them instrumental 30s and post-war jazz, song interpretation, free improv and instant composing, Brazilian popular and traditional music, and of course his own compositions, which are rich, composite constructions, often featuring playful rhythmic experimentation. Some of his own founded musical projects include the half classical, half contemporary jazz ensemble: ‘sQuare’, the traditional jazz trio: ‘the Amsterdam Jazz Trio’, electro-synth-pop project: ‘Luchtman’ and the contemporary pop and jazz band: ‘John Roast Power Fox’.
For Jochem the balance between harmony and melody are key. Perhaps this is why he is such a sought after musician for singers. He performs and writes with (among others) Wouter Hamel, Janne Schra, Lumi and Pepijn de Wit. Another key element that keeps returning within Jochems music is the interdisciplinary aspect. His own project, ‘Luchtman’ , works together with two graphic novel artist that create the outline for the music. He wrote music for dance performances by Chronos collective and also wrote and performed for Asko|Schönberg and Slagwerk Den Haag in multiple theatre and dance performances by NITE (Club Guy & Roni and het Noord Nederlands Toneel).
Since 2018 he’s working with Syrian Ud player Jaber Fayad to create new music in which Arabic music, improvised music and traditional western classical music are combined.
Jochem has performed in clubs, theaters and venues across the globe for big audiences with many renowned musicians. But still you can also catch him playing classic jazz standards on old poorly maintained pianos in the small bars in his home city of Amsterdam.
Tijn Jans
Tijn Jans started playing drums at the age of 15. On his brother's drum kit in the basement, he quickly got the hang of it. He decided to take lessons and, after finishing school, applied to the Utrecht conservatory. After a year, he switched to the Rotterdam conservatory, where in 2011 he graduated in the jazz drums department with Hans van Oosterhout and Joost Patocka, among others. After this, he decided to go on an exchange tour of Europe. He became part of a European exchange programme and studied at the conservatoires of Amsterdam, Berlin and Copenhagen.
He played concerts all over Europe in various bands from free jazz to avant-garde pop. Now living in Amsterdam, he plays with avant-garde space band Luchtman, jazz crooner Pepijn de Wit and the Amsterdam Jazz Trio.
Adrie Braat
Adrie studied classical bass at the Amsterdam Conservatory, after which he took lessons from John Clayton of the Count Basie Orchestra. When he was 24 he played with Boy Edgar's Orchestra and Jeff Reynolds' Big Band, and from 1981-1988 with the Dixieland Pipers led by Bert de Kort. He also played with the sextet of clarinettist Jan Morks, with pianists Nico Bunink and Pim Jacobs, and the bands of Kenny Ball, Acker Bilk, The Glenn Miller Orchestra led by Wil Salden and many more. His first contact with the Dutch Swing College Band was in 1986 when Adrie replaced Henk Bosch van Drakestein for the tours of South East Asia, Australia and Britain. In 1988 Adrie joined as the permanent bass player and since 2020 has led the Dutch Swing College Band. He has recorded many albums with the DSCB and also with Menno Daams, Spiegle Willcox, the Dixieland Pipers and Jan Morks' Jazzmates. As conductor Adrie has also produced albums by Zeppos' Big Band and Biggles Big Band. Today Adrie not only drives the DSCB’s rhythm section but also enjoys great success conducting Biggles Big Band.