London or Amsterdam? Ronnie Scott’s or BIMHUIS? Dave Holland or the sovereign nation of the same name? Whose contributions to jazz, both classic and contemporary, hew most closely to your tastes? Vote now at jazz88.org as we celebrate the inaugural Jazz Olympiad!
It’s only fitting that the English delegation, with bassist Dave Holland as a key flag bearer, should open match play against the nation that, for years, competed internationally as Holland.
That’s right, it’s the Brits versus the Dutch, as England takes on their low-lying neighbors across the North Sea, the Netherlands. The question now is: Which nation’s jazz will generate a love supreme from the KSDS audience?
Population-wise, the English outnumber the Dutch three to one, but, musically, the Nederlanders punch above their weight class, with the Metropole Orkest laying claim to being the largest hybrid jazz/pops/classical ensemble of its kind anywhere in the world.
Influenced by some of the legendary big band arrangers of the 20th century — Duke Ellington, Billy May, Bill Holman, Gil Evans, and Quincy Jones — the Metropole’s longest serving musical director and conductor was the legendary Rob Pronk.
Pronk's legacy of arranging for a jazz-oriented symphony orchestra endures under present conductor Jules Buckley, ironically an Englishman. Their recent full-length release, performing music composed by Snarky Puppy’s Michael League, speaks to a supernatural majesty only approached in the earthly realm by music. It’s simply sublime.
The Dutch also boast legendary individual instrumentalists. Piet Noordijk is probably the most famous saxophonist to ever ascend from the low countries. Playing primarily alto, he starred with the Metropole during the peak of its Pronk-led golden age and collaborated memorably with Ben Webster, toward the end of the latter’s life. He also memorably shared the North Sea Jazz Festival stage in 1987 with Benny Carter and Niels-Henning Orsted Pedersen, when all three received the Netherlands’ highest honor for jazz musicians, the Bird Award.
In contemporary Dutch life, names like bassist Joris Teepe, Django-influenced guitarist Stochelo Rosenberg, and pianist Peter Beets, with a musicality touching everything from Bach and Chopin to Peterson and post-bop, have been the most prominent on the marquee in the first quarter of the 21st century.
But what about tomorrow? Here’s a Dutch musician to watch — and, more importantly, listen to — going forward: drummer Philippe Lemm. Born and raised in Amsterdam, Lemm is presently the most exciting young Dutch expat on the NYC scene. To date, the Philippe Lemm trio has released four albums on trombonist Nick Finzer’s bespoke and artist-centric indie label, Outside In Music. Last year’s Echo the Sun, with brilliant piano work by Sharik Hasan, speaks to the global influences that permeate jazz as it’s being played today.
Meanwhile, across the English Channel, some heavyweights await. The Brits boast Miles Davis-alum John McLaughlin, a true guitarist’s guitarist who’s never shied away from heavily incorporating world music elements into the jazz vocabulary.
In terms of tradition, the saxophone duo of Ronnie Scott and Tubby Hayes are like the ’27 Yankees or the Wooden-era UCLA Bruins; they are the standard bearers of twentieth century jazz in London.
Meanwhile, the London of 2026 and the jazz emanating from it is different than it was 60 years ago, when the predominant style was that imported from the American Mt. Rushmore types. The London scene today is influenced heavily by a growing West African diaspora as well as those who’ve emigrated from one-time outposts of the British commonwealth like Barbados, Trinidad and Guyana. Two names to watch: saxophonists Shabaka Hutchings and Nubya Garcia. Their gigs are parties, returning jazz to its primordial roots as a populist music, a party music.
“The jazz scene has flourished [in London] for many decades, but has often been shaped by stylistic developments coming out of the United States,” wrote Ted Gioia in a 2021 Substack post titled “How Jazz was Declared Dead — Then Came Roaring Back to Life.” “The roles are almost reversed nowadays, with many American musicians and fans not only paying close attention to new sounds from the United Kingdom but increasingly envious of a British jazz ecosystem that can support a wide range of emerging styles and perspectives, attract an enthusiastic young audience, and get adulatory coverage in mainstream media outlets.”
Gioia goes on to close a piece that resonates even more today than it did when he first published it five years ago with this endorsement of London’s scene that will undoubtedly rankle much of American jazz’s old guard: “If you harbor concerns that a soulless generation of degree-certified jazz museum curators has taken over the bandstands, a night of clubbing in London will ease your worries….This is music without elitist pretensions; you can bring it into a formal concert hall, but it is perhaps even more at home at dances, informal jams, and basement nightclubs.”
As I hope the foregoing illustrates, there's a very credible case to be made for each country's contributions to both classic and contemporary jazz. Now, it's up to you. Cast your vote here.
