The Boy Edgar Prize, the most important prize in the Netherlands for jazz and improvised music, has this year been awarded to guitarist, composer and bandleader Reinier Baas.

Reinier Baas has been one of the most distinctive musicians in Dutch jazz for years. According to the Boy Edgar Prize jury, ‘Baas pulls jazz into the present. With humor, lightness and depth, he innovates, builds bridges between scenes and generations, and dares to take risks time and again.’

His versatility knows no bounds: from four #oneminuteradio solo albums featuring only one-minute compositions to the surrealist jazz opera Reinier Baas vs. Princess Discombobulatrix, from the album Smash Hits with partner-in-crime Ben van Gelder and the Metropole Orkest to the supergroup Deadeye with Kit Downes and Jonas Burgwinkel. Baas continually challenges and renews himself.

Additionally, he takes responsibility for the next generation of jazz musicians through his work at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam, Jazzcampus Basel and as artistic director of the National Youth Jazz Orchestra.

Tonight, Baas will perform a special program featuring the National Youth Jazz Orchestra and a renewed version of his band The More Socially Relevant Jazz Music Ensemble.

About the Boy Edgar Prize

The Boy Edgar Prize is the most important prize in Dutch jazz and improvised music. The prize is named after Amsterdam jazz trumpeter and big band leader Boy Edgar, who made an important contribution to the recognition of jazz as a high-quality art form.

Since 2022, the Fonds Podiumkunsten has organized the selection process and awards the prize annually to a performing musician who contributes to the genre in a distinctive way. The prize is supported by Buma Cultuur, Sena Performers and North Sea Jazz. Previous winners include Tony Roe, Ronald Snijders, Ack van Rooyen and Tineke Postma.