SIMON GELSDORF
Pianist · Composer · Arranger · Educator
ABOUT ME
Simon Gelsdorf (1997) is a young, uprising Jazz pianist, composer and arranger based in The Hague.
He graduated from the Royal Conservatoire of The Hague in 2022 with special distinction for “Outstanding Composing and Arranging”.
Back in 2017 he got a scholarship for the Berklee College of Music in Boston, as well as an award for “Outstanding Musicianship”, but ultimately decided to pursue his dream to build himself a name in the jazz scene in the Netherlands.
Under the guidance of Wolfert Brederode and Martin Fondse, he developed his own distinctive compositional style and playing, which draws inspiration from contemporary Jazz, orchestral classical and film music as well as the rhythmic method of Indian Carnatic music.
He is an active member of the The Hague Jazz scene and has performed all over Europe, including the Netherlands, Germany, Latvia, Italy etc.
In 2022 Simon Gelsdorf released his first album together with trumpet player Kristians Kalva, with a daring, entirely free improvised concept. While having only discussed the title and the key of the song beforehand, they let themselves be guided by their emotions, associated with that chosen title. They take this approach also to live concerts, where they improvise on spot to the title given by the audience.
His interests are not limited to contemporary music, but also include traditional Jazz. With the band the Royal Croquettes, he arranges old school Swing and New Orleans music in a traditional setting, sticking to the roots of Jazz while maintaining a fresh and new approach towards it.
His latest and biggest project is the EigenGrau Ensemble, which started as the EigenGrau Trio in 2021 together with bassist Thor Johansen and drummer Nikolas Tsangaris. Then it evolved into an octet, incorporating the Isle string quartet and singer Giulia Bättig. Drawing inspiration from film composers, such as Joe Hisaishi and Hans Zimmer, Simon Gelsdorf is combining eclectic Jazz with velvet yet lively strings and smooth vocal into refreshing and original music.
This summer, the EigenGrau Ensemble officially published their first two singles Eigenlicht and Icarus.
