Photo by Zuhal Kocan @ Louisiana Museum of Modern Art in the midst of the corona crisis
WHO WE ARE
Inspired by artistic organizations such as The Royal Danish Ballet, The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre, Cirque du Soleil, The Royal Shakespeare Company and the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the Niels Lan Doky International Jazz Collective is an association of prolific musicians from three different continents, Europe, North America and South America - who are devoted to presenting unique and exclusive jazz performances of the highest order, which they curate and produce themselves and which cannot be heard anywhere else. The collective is led by jazz pianist and producer Niels Lan Doky, who was knighted by HM the Queen of Denmark, and they present their programs at prominent venues in the greater Copenhagen area such as the National Museum of Denmark, Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, Hotel d’Angleterre, Sølyst and Nørrero Theater.
THE CONCEPT
Inspired in part by the world of classical music, all of the NLD IJC’s programs reverse the jazz world’s traditional narrative which speaks about the artists first, before speaking about the music that they play. At the NLD IJC we speak first and foremost about the music - and only secondarily about the artists who perform it. For all our programs, we cast musicians in view of serving the music - not vice versa.
OUR MISSION
We believe in the ancient African proverb “those who stand on the shoulders of their ancestors stand tallest” and we have the deepest respect for the jazz masters of the past and their legacy upon which we stand today. However, our mission is to revitalize the jazz world, to increase the music’s relevance to a broad range of audiences of present and future generations. We want to reposition jazz and redefine its audiences and have acquired extensive expertise in turning non--jazz fans into jazz fans. We offer greatly invigorated new fresh types of jazz experiences with quantum leap increases in quality, substance, class and dignity. We know that many essential jazz values have universal appeal, and as we implement them, we see audience growth and expansion occurring naturally.