joris teepe banner hp 1100x260

Biography

Joris Teepe is an acoustic and electric bassist from Amsterdam and has lived in New York since 1992. He has led his own groups for 30 years and recorded 22 CD’s as a leader or co-leader and over 60 CD’s as a sideman.

Arriving in New York in 1992 with just his bass and a suitcase, he took lessons with bassist Ron Carter, quickly met many musicians and started to work a lot. A year later he recorded his first CD, with a band co-led by saxophonist Don Braden and featuring pianist Cyrus Chestnut, drummer Carl Allen and trumpeter Tom Harrell. From that point everything really took off for Joris and he became a bassist in great demand. He has been working with the “who-is-who in Jazz”, such as Benny Golson, Sonny Fortune, Rashied Ali, Billy Hart and Randy Brecker.

His longest stint was with Rashied Ali (John Coltrane’s last drummer), with whom he recorded 5 albums and toured the world between 2000 and 2009.

  • In 2004 Joris Teepe was nominated for the Bird Award at the North Sea Jazz Festival in the category “Artist Deserving Wider Recognition”.
  • One of his recent projects is the “Trio of Liberty”, co-led by saxophonist Don Braden. Down Beat Magazine selected their CD “Conversations” as CD of the year in 2017.
  • Another project is “In the Spirit of Rashied Ali” a book with a CD, drawing on the spirit of his experiences with this legendary drummer. This release was nominated in 2019 for an Edison (Dutch Grammy).

COMPOSER: Teepe has composed 95 original compositions, including pieces for Symphony Orchestra & Small Jazz Group and Symphony Orchestra, Big Band, and Choir. He leads his own big band in New York, playing exclusively his own music, and performs his own repertoire as a guest soloist with local big bands. The JORIS TEEPE REAL BOOK will be released in 2024.

EDUCATOR: Teepe has established himself as a jazz educator, teaching at Queens College NY (2009-2010) as well as serving as the Director of the Jazz Department at the Conservatorium in Groningen, Netherlands (2001-2017). He introduced “New York comes to Groningen” a unique new educational concept. Teepe has also taught at Jazz for Teens in New Jersey (2000-2010), Peter Herbolzheimer European Jazz Academy (Germany), Jazzinty (Slovenia), ChoJazz (Poland), JZ-School Summer Camp (China), and Litchfield Jazz Camp (Connecticut, USA).

Creativity is the trademark of this Dutch New Yorker. Every concert is a challenge for the audience and for himself, due to his swinging grooves and unique international experience!

“..Joris Teepe has become musical partners with some of the best musicians in New York. This is due to his status as a bassist who possesses a warm, even tone, and a sympathic, swinging beat (..) but also to his abilities as a writer, arranger and band leader.” – Peter Washington, New York