Millennium Jazz Orchestra

The Millennium Jazz Orchestra is a pure jazz orchestra with professional Dutch, German, English and Brazilian musicians. Since 1990 the orchestra, under Joan Reinders’ leadership, plays a regular monthly concert in Theater Bouwkunde in Deventer (NL), featuring a famous nationally or internationally soloist like Toots Thielemans, Dick Oatts, Kenny Wheeler, Benny Golson, New York Voices, Claudio Roditi, James Moody, Lew Tabackin, Jiggs Whigham, Bobby Shew, Herb Geller, Lee Konitz, Ernie Watts, Charlie Mariano, The Four Freshmen, Bud Shank, Pete Christlieb, Philip Catherine and many others.

The orchestra has played in many theatres and music halls in the Netherlands and Germany, such as the Concertgebouw Amsterdam and North Sea Jazz Festival. In January 2006 the Millennium Jazz Orchestra and singer Fay Claassen were invited to perform at the International Association for Jazz Education, which took place in New York.

Special projects are part of the band’s interests, such as:
• Both Sides Now (2023) - Marjorie Barnes, with a 50 years spanning career to be considered a “Grande Dame du Jazz”, teams up with the Millennium Jazz Orchestra. Their album Both Sides Now is a celebration of the contemporary American Songbook, all songs arranged by Joan Reinders
• Bleeding Amazonia (2022) – An eight-part suite composed by Joan Reinders on poetry of Thiago de Mello, with Brazilian vocalist Lilian Vieira
• Gershwin Celebration Tour (2019) - With Matangi Quartet (strings) and jazz vocalist Fay Claassen.
• Bernstein Celebration Tour (2018-2019) - With sopranos Claron McFadden and Laura Bohn.
• Jazz meets Classic meets World Music (2010)
• The Millennium Jazz Orchestra with string orchestra Sinfonietta Aurora and singer Esra Dalfidan.
• ArtEZ Composition Contest (2007-2013) - This contest was open for composers of all nationalities (no age limit). Participants came from all over the world. Each year the Millennium Jazz Orchestra, under Joan Reinders’ leadership, performed five selected compositions for the final round.