“Orange is the colour of insanity,” Van Gogh once wrote. Could that still be true today – especially considering a certain well-known man with an orangish face? For Charles Mingus, it was the colour of her dress, and for the many attendees at the first-ever Orange Jazz Days, orange seemed to be everywhere – especially in what is widely regarded as the finest music venue in the Netherlands: TivoliVredenburg.
Strategically located next to Utrecht Central Station, TivoliVredenburg houses seven concert halls of various sizes, five of which were used for the festival. Over three days and 28 performances, the organisers aimed to showcase the best of Dutch jazz – and they certainly delivered.
While orange naturally dominates in the Netherlands, other colours had their moment in the spotlight. Much like the cover of their recently released Tivoli Sessions album, the first band on Friday – Nu-Art Orchestra – opted for one of Van Gogh’s favourite hues: yellow. With 11 women and six men, the ensemble might not be a perfect model of gender balance, but it seemed that the female presence lent the music a luminous, fluid quality. Featuring alto saxophonist Tineke Postma – who later appeared in a duo with pianist Marc van Roon – the orchestra painted a vivid sonic canvas before the colour blue took over.
Blue, as in Blue Curaçao: Vernon Chatlein and his five-piece group Chatlein I Su Zumbi brought the tropical rhythms of the Caribbean island to life, serving an irresistible Curaçaoan cocktail that left the audience thirsting for more. Then came the purple reign of the Jazz Orchestra Of The Concertgebouw. While purple rain poured outside, the 18-member big band – featuring pianist Peter Beets and his equally purple jacket – filled the mega-packed Herz Hall with groovy, irresistible energy.
Against crimson curtains, the Loek van den Berg Quintet delivered an intense set of originals. Having earned an Edison Award for their Wayfarer album, the quintet unveiled Seafarer – a perfect sequel to their earlier work. Next door, in a smaller room draped with blue velvet, bassist Zack Lober’s No Fill3r set the stage ablaze. His high-voltage quartet – featuring drummer Sun-Mi Hong, trumpeter Suzan Veneman and tenor saxophonist Jasper Blom – played with fearless energy. The night closed on an exuberant note with Parra.Dice, an all-female nonet whose fusion of world music and jazz had the audience dancing in the aisles.
On Saturday there was double the number of acts which maintained the same high level of artistry. The stylistic range was vast – from the electro-acoustic explorations of Waan, who blends jazz and electronics with finesse, to the legendary Instant Composers Pool (ICP) Orchestra, still as daring as ever. Celebrating what would have been Misha Mengelberg’s 90th birthday, the ICP performed with veteran drummer Han Bennink – now 83, and the last remaining founding member from 1967. Seated between the strings and horns, Bennink was uncharacteristically subdued, yet still unpredictable. After a Mengelberg piece introduced by violist Mary Oliver, the three clarinets burst out in a shrill, chaotic chorus – like seagulls squabbling over climate change.
Before ICP’s closing set, saxophonist Mete Erker presented his upcoming album in a “3 + 1” formation. Usually performing in a trio, Erker added piano that subtly reshaped his sound. Describing his approach as “European impressionism influenced by Albert Ayler”, he delivered an intense, deeply expressive performance that held the audience until the final note.
Equally compelling was saxophonist Yuri Honing and his Acoustic Quartet, featuring pianist Wolfert Brederode, bassist Gulli Gudmundsson and drummer Joost Lijbaart. Honing’s lyrical tone and understated passion were as magnetic as ever. Trumpeter Eric Vloeimans, another giant of Dutch jazz, premiered a commissioned suite inspired by the festival’s theme colour. Orange Jazz shimmered with a spectrum of shades – from a Halloween pumpkin to bright neon – while Vloeimans himself, ironically, wore pink trousers.
Under the neon lights of Pandora Hall, Waan’s electronic pulses slowly faded, giving way to the Sweet Toko band led by bassist Adinda Meertins. With her white baby bass, the only thing that was missing was Nils Landgren’s trademark red trombone, but since he is not part of the band, Elfe Erdem brought a regular trombone that sounded just as good. Revisiting her Indonesian and Caribbean heritage, Meertins created space for both poetry and improvisation.
With such a great programme that also featured on Sunday new Edison Award recipient Kasper Rietkerk, there did not seem to be any cherry on the multi-layered Dutch cake. All the ingredients of this beautiful first edition of the Orange Jazz Days were equally spread and balanced. Simply the best delicious cake that makes you beg for more.
Orange Jazz Days, TivoliVredenburg, Utrecht, The Netherlands. 3-5 October 2025
