Researched musician profile
About Joris Roelofs
Roelofs’s official biography identifies him as an Amsterdam-based bass clarinetist and composer who also developed on alto saxophone. It traces the Jazz Orchestra of the Concertgebouw, the Vienna Art Orchestra, Conservatorium van Amsterdam study, and his later return to the city as chair of jazz clarinet.[1]
The official discography separates his trio with Matt Penman and Ted Poor, chamber work with Jesse van Ruller and Clemens van der Feen, the Han Bennink duo Icarus, and Rope Dance. The last project uses Nietzsche’s rope-dancer parable as the frame for an unusual clarinet-and-bassoon ensemble.[2][1]
Amsterdam clarinet chair
Roelofs’s biography documents both his conservatory training and later leadership of its jazz clarinet department.[1]
Icarus
The 2018 duo recording pairs Roelofs’s clarinets with Han Bennink’s drums and additional instruments.[2]
Rope Dance
The 2021 project expands his clarinet writing with bassoon, piano, bass, and drums around a philosophical text.[2]