Metropole Orkest
Since 1945, Netherlands big-band the Metropole Orchestra (aka Metropole Orkest) has been globally renowned for their live and recorded performances of jazz, pop, electronic, classical, world, and avant-garde music; the orchestra is comprised of musicians from those genres and more. They are the world's oldest multi-genre orchestra with a catalog of more than 100 albums. Their roster can be broken up into smaller configurations of 17 and larger ones of nearly 100. In addition to their own body of recorded work, they have collaborated in concert and on recordings with dozens of prominent artists including Ella Fitzgerald, Tori Amos, Elvis Costello, Steve Vai, Snarky Puppy, and prog metallers Within Temptation. A first-call orchestra for film scores and soundtracks, they have recorded original works for countless films on both sides of the Atlantic. In 2014, a year after Jules Buckley took over as conductor and music director, the group committed itself to working with international vocalists. Their first such projects were Laura Mvula with Metropole Orkest, and Live in Holland with Asha Bhosle. In 2017 they collaborated with electronic composer Jameszoo for the in-concert Melkweg, and with Argentine composer and jazz pianist Pablo Ziegler for Amsterdam Meets New Tango. A year later, they collaborated with Raul Midon on his If You Really Want and in 2019, made their debut performance at the annual extreme music festival Roadburn in collaboration with Triptykon for their commissioned original work Requiem.
The Metropole Orkest was founded in 1945 by the Dutch Radio Foundation under the leadership of conductor Dolf van der Linden; the 17-member ensemble made its debut on November 25 of that year, and in the decades to follow established itself as an institution of the European jazz community, backing everyone from Tony Bennett and Shirley Bassey to Natalie Cole. After 35 years at the helm, van der Linden left the orchestra in 1980 and was replaced by Rogier van Otterloo; in the wake of van Otterloo's 1988 death, the reins were handed to artistic director Dick Bakker, who held them until American composer, arranger, and conductor Vince Mendoza took over the baton in 2005 and held it until Jules Buckley, a guest conductor from 2008 on received it from him in 2013. The orchestra's reputation flourished over the next several years. They issued globally acclaimed albums including Revolutions with Jim Beard in 2008,El Viento: The Garcia Lorca Project, Ivan Lins & the Metropole Orchestra and Morricone: The Maestro, The Music, And the Orchestra, all in 2010. Despite releasing 20 albums between 2008 and 2011, the Dutch government seriously considered withdrawing the group's funding. In December, a budget was assured through 2017. Metropole Orkest issued some of its most prestigious recordings over the next five years, including Edu Lobo & Metropole Orkest, Perfect Vision: The Esquivel Sound, and Sylva with Snarky Puppy.
In 2017 a concert with Argentine jazz pianist Pablo Ziegler was released with the title Amsterdam Meets New Tango; it drew global acclaim from critics and airplay all over Europe and Asia. In the build-up to another Dutch parliamentary debate over public funding for arts and culture in May 2018, the Metropole Orkest announced that budget cuts during the preceding five years had caused a 50-percent work reduction. Many faced problems when trying to combine the orchestra's irregular work hours with part-time jobs required to make ends meet. Metropole Orkest issued only a one recording in 2019: a retrospective collaborative performace with Jameszoo (aka Mitchel van Dinther) entitled Melkweg, titled for the famed concert venue. They performed a commissioned collaboration with Triptykon at the year's Roadburn Festival. Entitled Requiem, it featured the entire performance of Celtic Frost's unfinished work of the same name; it composed by their the band's guitarist Tom Gabriel Warrior, who founded Celtic Frost in 1986. The set was released by Century Media in the spring of 2020. The same year, a limited edition, double vinyl release of Melkweg was sold through Bandcamp
© Thom Jurek & Jason Ankeny /TiVo
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Metropole Studio Sessions: Dutch Jazz Jam II (Live)
Jazz - Released by Metropole Orkest on 17 Feb 2021
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Chamber Works
Terry Bozzio, Metropole Orkest
Classical - Released by Favored Nations on 1 Jan 2005
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Italian Opera Meets Jazz
Mike del Ferro, Metropole Orkest
Jazz - Released by Challenge Records on 6 May 2016
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Metropole Studio Session: World Tour - Brasil (Live)
Latin Jazz - Released by Metropole Orkest on 30 Jul 2021
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Gebroken Spiegels
Sophie Straat, Metropole Orkest
Pop - Released by Sophie Straat on 19 Jan 2024
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Short Stories
Jan Van Duikeren's JVD4, Metropole Orkest
Contemporary Jazz - Released by ZenneZ Records on 14 May 2021
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Conquerors (Part 1 and Part 2)
Dance - Released by Revealed Recordings on 25 May 2018
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Like Nobody's Watching
Pop - Released by Residence Records on 23 Nov 2018
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Crazy
Alternative & Indie - Released by Wolf Recordings B.V. on 19 Dec 2019
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Conquerors (Full Version)
Dance - Released by Revealed Recordings on 25 May 2018
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Metropole Studio Sessions: Dutch Jazz Jam I (Live)
Jazz - Released by Metropole Orkest on 12 Feb 2021
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Life
Louis Cole, Metropole Orkest, Jules Buckley
Alternative & Indie - Released by Brainfeeder on 16 May 2024
24-Bit 48.0 kHz - Stereo -
Esperanto (feat. Dianne Reeves)
Vince Mendoza, Metropole Orkest
Jazz - Released by Modern Recordings on 20 Jan 2023
24-Bit 88.2 kHz - Stereo -
All the Best Things
Emil Landman, Metropole Orkest
Pop - Released by V2 Records Benelux on 11 Jun 2021
24-Bit 48.0 kHz - Stereo -
Smash Hits
Ben van Gelder, Reinier Baas, Metropole Orkest
Jazz - Released by Basta Music on 2 Nov 2018
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Lisandro Adrover Meets the Metropole Orchestra
Lisandro Adrover, Metropole Orkest
Tango - Released by Saphrane on 24 Nov 2008
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Something For Christmas (2023 Mix)
Caro Emerald, Metropole Orkest
Christmas Music - Released by MVKA on 24 Nov 2023
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Music for String Quartet & Orchestra
Bob Brookmeyer, Metropole Orkest, Klimt!
Contemporary Jazz - Released by Baseline Jazz on 3 Dec 2008
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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‘t Is stil in Amsterdam (Live - Ramses Leeft!)
Pop - Released by Metropole Orkest on 27 Aug 2021
24-Bit 48.0 kHz - Stereo -
Kodachrome: Raymond Scott Compositions for Orchestra
Jazz - Released by Basta Audio-Visuals on 3 Sep 2002
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo