Bassist Joris Teepe has been living in New York since 1992, but was born and raised in The Netherlands. In 2007, Teepe was commissioned to compose music for the North Netherlands Symphony Orchestra, where the Joris Teepe Quartet was invited to perform. These concerts received great critical acclaim and as a result, Joris was invited to be a guest soloist, performing his own music, for the Radio Big Band in Bucharest, Romania. Joris successfully re-arranged all the music from the Symphony Orchestra made up of 87 musicians to the Big Band formed by 17 musicians. The Bucharest concert was such a tremendous hit, inspiring him to create the Joris Teepe Big Band.
Teepe has developed an extensive knowledge of every aspect of jazz performance and never denies his artistic vision and adventurous personality.
Joris has performed and recorded with hundreds of musicians including The Metropole Orchestra (directed by Bill Holman and Vince Mendoza), The Brooklyn Big Band, The Romanian Radio Orchestra, The North Netherlands Symphony Orchestra, Benny Bailey, Tom Harrell, Randy Brecker, Brian Lynch, Abraham Burton, Yuri Honing, Rick Margitza, James Williams, Kenny Werner, David Berkman, Rashied Ali, Billy Hart, Billy Drummond, Bill Goodwin, Tim Horner, Jesse van Ruller, John Abercrombie and Ron Affif, Jason Jackson, Frank Lacy, Slide Hampton, Conrad Herwig, Andy Bey, Dena DeRose, Fay Claassen and Deborah Brown.
Teepe's work as a writer and arranger makes a substantial contributionto his artistic statement. 41 of his original compositions have been recorded on 16 different CD's. His hip arrangements of Benny Golson's "Whisper not ", Billy Strayhorn's "Chelsea Bridge" and Randy Brecker's "Some Skunk Funk" are becoming well known in the Jazz Community. He has arranged music for many singers, such as Deborah Brown, Fay Claassen, Nana, Mathilde Santing.
Recently Joris Teepe has been writing for large ensembles. He wrote an extensive repertoire for Big Band and for Nonet, and several larger pieces for Jazz Quartet and Symphony Orchestra.
Joris Teepe is the Director of Jazz Studies at the Prince Claus Conservatory in Groningen, the Netherlands. He is also inventer and founder of the program New York comes to Groningen, a unique system of jazz education with a rotating visiting faculty from New York teaching at this International University in Europe. Teepe is the bass instructor at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center. The Wachovia “Jazz for Teens” program. Joris Teepe is teaching several jazz camps each summer, such as Litchfield Jazz Camp (Connecticut), Jazzinty (Slovenia) and Orsara Jazz (Italy).
