New York Jazz Club

New York Jazz Club brings the irresistible vibe of the Big Apple to Amsterdam!

Line-up: Jesse van Ruller Trio, The Hi-Stakes and Sam Ghezzi Trio.

Amsterdam has a long history as one of the European capitals of Jazz, next to Paris, Copenhagen and London. Many American legends such as Chet Baker, Ben Webster or Johnny Griffin spent a significant amount of time in the Netherlands. Influenced and schooled by these grandmasters there is a whole generation of Dutch legends such as Rita Reys, Pim and his brother Ruud Jacobs, John Engels or Han Bennink that have been passing on the knowledge to future generations of jazz musicians. While not always very visible to the public eye, this music has always been very alive in Amsterdam.

Jesse van Ruller Trio
Jesse van Ruller is known to be one of the best contemporary jazz guitarists on the scene today. His unique sound, virtuoso technique and beautiful compositions are praised around the globe. In 1995 he won the prestigious Thelonious Monk Award in Washington . The jury, consisting of Pat Metheny, John Scofield, Jim Hall, Pat Martino and Mark Whitfield, was of the opinion that Jesse is one of the most promising talents of his time. In the same year he graduated summa cum laude from the Hilversum Conservatory, where he studied with Wim Overgaauw. Since then he has collaborated with many of the world’s leading musicians. He was nominated for the Dutch Bird and Edison Awards several times and to date has released 11 albums as a leader or co-leader. Jesse leads his own trio in which he continues to display his impressive talents as a jazz guitarist as well as a composer. In this classic guitar-bass-drums setting he unerringly combines all chords and melodies on his semi-acoustic jazz guitar; tradition, expertise and innovation un-insistently go
hand in hand.

The Hi-Stakes
The Hi-Stakes, featuring their iconic frontman Sam Ghezzi, are a Rhythm & Blues quintet from Amsterdam. The best dressed band of the Netherlands have made a name for themselves with their very own, unique sound, somewhere in between Blues, Rock’n Roll, Jazz and Boogaloo. Their songs are catchy, their sound is thick, their beat is infectious and saying that their live show is irresistible might even be a bit of an understatement.

Sam Ghezzi Trio
New York Jazz Club celebrates the temporary homecoming of Sam Ghezzi, frontman of both The Hi-Stakes and Roaring Cats and an important pillar of the Amsterdam jazz scene for the past seven years, who recently moved to Paris. With his trio, Sam pays tribute to his greatest heroes in between Jazz and blues: Nat King Cole, Ray Charles and Percy Mayfield.