Joao Driessen is a saxophonist celebrated for his dynamic sound and captivating performances across a wide range of musical styles. He is a prominent member of ensembles including the Benoit Martiny Band, BvR Flamenco Big Band, Friso van Wijck’s Candy Container, Millennium Jazz Orchestra, Taco Nieuwenhuizen Group, and the Dutch Concert Big Band. He has also performed with renowned orchestras such as the Jazz Orchestra of the Concertgebouw and the Metropole Orkest, showcasing his versatility and precision in both intimate and large-scale settings.

Born and raised in London in a musical family, Joao developed a passion for music from an early age. In the early 2000s, he moved to Amsterdam to study at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam, where he honed his craft and built a strong foundation in jazz and contemporary music.

Since then, Joao has become a sought-after performer in the Netherlands and internationally, collaborating with a diverse range of artists and ensembles while maintaining a vibrant and busy performance schedule.

Find out where Joao is performing next by following "Latest News".

Originally formed in 2004 the Benoit Martiny Band's roots stem from a garage in the small village of Rameldange in Luxembourg. Here through the years drummer Benoit Martiny and his bandmates developed an original musical style that draws it's identity from the composite backgrounds of the musicians, ranging from jazz & blues to rock, trash, and experimental noise.

During the process of refining its style and finding the definitive line-up, the band released "Jazz goes Garage" in 2005, under a local label. The band released their next effort on Quinto Quarto. The CD, that has been recorded in Brussels, is named simply "Benoit Martiny Band", as the band considers it the most representative introduction to their work. BMB is the 1st prize winner of the Amersfoort Jazz Talent Award, and has been on the road in countries including: France, Germany, Netherlands, Hungary, Luxembourg, Belgium, China, Japan, and Italy.

CILICE ORCHESTRA is an instrumental project founded by Theo Holsheimer. The music could be described as instrumental Djentmetal on steroids. A mix between CILICE progressive djent metal grooves, contemporary classical music, jazz, industrial & soundscapes.

After years of composing "modern music" for renowned ensembles including Asko / Schönberg Ensemble, Nieuw Ensemble and Doelen Ensemble, playing metal in his teens and then jazz, improvised music and making electronic music, Friso van Wijck decided all this, and more, could be summarized in the music for his band "The Steeplepoy?s Revanger".

As a composer influenced by atonality / pantonality, serialism, algorithmic and aleatoric compositional techniques, modern jazz, and writers / poets like James Joyce, Dylan Thomas and E. E. Cummings, Friso aims for a synergy between these different, sometimes completely opposite worlds.

This international group of five young talented musicians met in Amsterdam at the beginning of 2010 and decided to gather together to arrange, develop and perform the music of the Italian composer and pianist Federica Colangelo.
The work of Federica Colangelo has been described as akin to film music, due to the colourful quality of the music and its strong relation and association to imagery.
From writing for string quintet and piano, to small orchestras and duets, These elements meet in the music of Acquaphonica creating an organic blend of improvisation and composed elements.

In June 2011 the creative search of the band amalgamated in Acquaphonica’s debut-album: ‘Private Enemy’. Recorded at ‘Fattoria Musica’ studios in Ösnabruck, Germany.

The Dutch Concert Big Band is a professional big band founded by drummer Kevin van den Elzen. The band consists of some the finest young jazz musicians in the Netherlands. The concept and goal of the Dutch Concert Big Band is to rediscover “forgotten” repertoire by master jazz composers and musicians from the Netherlands. The bands has strived to bring this music to a new audience. Aside from the current impressive line-up, Guests have included: Paquito d’Rivera, Ack van Rooyen, Theo Loevendie, Fay Claassen, Shirma Rouse and Jan Menu.

The first Release of the DCBB is a tribute to Dutch big band composers with pieces from: Jerry van Rooyen, Rob Pronk, Frans Elsen, Rob Madna, Henk Meutgeert, Johan Plomp, Rik Elings, Jan Wessels and Henk Huizinga.

Flamenco meets Jazz on the big stage. The fire of Flamenco Cante, Guitar, Palmas and Cajón is taken to the next level through colorful orchestration and the dynamic range of the Big Band. Beautiful Arrangements and Compositions by Bernard van Rossum are realised by a truly deep appreciation for the flamenco tradition, and an impressive line up.

This young band has no regard for musical borders and preconceptions. They dare to mix everything they can in order to take the listeners on a trip into their world. Born from the freedom and beauty of a bustling marketplace where you can find everything from a turkish electronics shop to an african grocery store. The balkan background of Misho Ivanov and Srdjan Ivanovic, together with Michael Rörby's scandinavian thrown in the mix, their mutual language: Jazz, and the absence of a piano or chordal instrument gives them the space and freedom to make music that comes from the soul. Pure melody, rhythm and interplay.

Surprising audiences and competition juries, the Blazin' Quartet won the Holland Casino Jazz & Pop Award and shortly after, the Dutch Jazz Competition at the North Sea Jazz Festival 2008. The Blazin' Quartet have taken part in the Young VIPs tour - a 10 date tour to some of the best venues in Holland. It has also since performed at festivals such as Jazz-A-Palooza, Novi Sad Jazz Festival, North Sea Jazz Festival 2009 where the band presented it's debut album titled Finding A Way, North Sea Jazz Festival 2010, Samui Jazz Festival Thailand, Sao Paolo Jazz, OCT Loft Festvial Shangzhen China, and more.

End of summer of 2009 the Taco Nieuwenhuizen Group was formed. After many years as an established side-man, Taco Nieuwenhuizen decided to release his own music to the world and enlisted best musicians he could find to bring his ideas to life. The Bass Guitar plays a central role in melody and groove. Recently the band has recorded it's first album ‘PLAYTIME’. Below an excerpt from this studio Album.