Nils Landgren | Max Mutzke | JugendJazzOrchester NRW | Götz Alsmann

»Sometimes loud, sometimes quiet, innovative, committed to tradition« – that is the motto of the JugendJazzOrchester Nordrhein-Westfalen (JJO NRW). Since its founding in 1975, it has become a role model for many other state youth jazz orchestras. Now the big band is celebrating its 50th birthday. Presenter and jazz all-rounder Götz Alsmann, Swedish trombonist Nils Landgren and singer Max Mutzke were invited to the star-studded party.

The changing members of the artistic management team have been responsible for the international success of the JJO NRW (which has performed on all five continents) from the very beginning. With their own arrangements and compositions written especially for the JJO NRW, they have made a lasting contribution to the artistic development of young jazz musicians. After all, many of the top musicians who now play in the WDR Big Band Köln started out in the JJO NRW.