This year, the
Composition Assignment North Sea Jazz was allocated to saxophonist/composer
Jorrit Dijkstra. Dijkstra (1966) was intensively involved in the Amsterdam improvised music scene but left for Boston in 2002. There, he became active in free jazz and new music. Besides his saxophone, Dijkstra also makes use of the lyricon, an electronic wind instrument, and other electronic means. Because of his background as a jazz musician, he can create an exciting balance between his own playing of the saxophone and electronic distortions. In his compositions, composed elements and free impro go hand in hand. Dijkstra plays his new compositions with an octet, consisting of members of two of his American bands,The Flatlands Collective and Tone Dialling, as well as a number ofleading improvisers. The entire collective is known as
Pillow Circles.
Dijkstra's project is made possible through grants from The Netherland-America Foundation and Muziek Centrum Nederland. The composition assignment is a joint initiative of the North Sea Jazz Festival and Muziek Centrum Nederland in cooperation with the 'Nederlands Fonds voor Podiumkunsten' (Dutch Fund for the performing Arts).
