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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Djesse Vol.1
Jacob Collier, Metropole Orkest, Jules Buckley
Vocal Jazz - Released by Decca (UMO) on Dec 7, 2018
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Between Us... (Live)
Anoushka Shankar, Metropole Orkest, Jules Buckley
World - Released by LEITER Verlag GmbH & Co. KG on Jul 8, 2022
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Olympians
Vince Mendoza, Metropole Orkest
Jazz - Released by Modern Recordings on Mar 3, 2023
24-Bit 88.2 kHz - Stereo -
Live at Cello Biënnale Amsterdam
Jazz - Released by ACT Music on Jan 26, 2024
24-Bit 48.0 kHz - Stereo -
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Sylva (Live From Dordrecht, Het Energiehuis / 2014)
Snarky Puppy, Metropole Orkest
Jazz - Released by GroundUP Music LLC on Apr 20, 2015
Grammy Awards16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Efteling in Concert (Live)
Pop - Released by Efteling - CTM Tribe Music on Dec 20, 2022
24-Bit 48.0 kHz - Stereo -
Live at Royal Theatre Carré, Amsterdam (Live at Royal Theatre Carré, Amsterdam)
Rock - Released by Suburban Music Group on Jul 16, 2021
24-Bit 48.0 kHz - Stereo -
54
Metropole Orkest, John Scofield, Vince Mendoza
Jazz - Released by Universal Music Group International on Jan 1, 2009
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Everchanging Times
Trijntje Oosterhuis, Metropole Orkest
Pop - Released by Universal Music, a division of Universal International Music BV on Aug 27, 2021
24-Bit 192.0 kHz - Stereo -
The Look Of Love - Burt Bacharach Songbook
Trijntje Oosterhuis, Metropole Orkest
Pop - Released by Universal Music, a division of Universal International Music BV on Jan 1, 2006
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
MO x Caro Emerald by Grandmono
Caro Emerald, Metropole Orkest
Pop - Released by MVKA on Dec 8, 2017
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Between Us... (Live)
Anoushka Shankar, Metropole Orkest, Jules Buckley
World - Released by LEITER Verlag GmbH & Co. KG on Jul 8, 2022
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Metropole Studio Sessions: World Tour - Cuba (Live)
Jazz - Released by Metropole Orkest on Aug 6, 2021
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Saudade, Colour of Love (Live)
Maria Mendes, Metropole Orkest, John Beasley
Jazz - Released by Challenge Records on Oct 7, 2022
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
What Heat
Bokanté, Metropole Orkest, Jules Buckley
World - Released by Real World Records on Sep 28, 2018
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Show Must Go On (ft. ZO! Gospel Choir)
Metropole Orkest, Marcel Veenendaal
Rock - Released by Metropole Orkest on Nov 25, 2020
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Basement Jaxx vs. Metropole Orkest
Basement Jaxx, Metropole Orkest
Classical - Released by Atlantic Jaxx Recordings on Jul 11, 2011
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Then and Now (The Artistry of Ack & Jerry Van Rooyen 1975-2020)
Metropole Orkest, Ack van Rooyen
Contemporary Jazz - Released by ZenneZ Records on May 7, 2021
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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Family Portrait
Metropole Orkest, Martin Fondse
Jazz - Released by V2 Records Benelux Distribution on Jun 9, 2023
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo