Aarhus Jazz Orchestra is a Danish big band founded in 1977 by Jens Klüver - originally as Klüvers Big Band - and has carried its current name since 2012. It is the only state-funded jazz orchestra in Denmark, supported by the Danish Arts Foundation and Aarhus Municipality, and performs more than 80 concerts a year ranging from school concerts to large-scale artistic commissions. The 17-piece ensemble has collaborated with international figures including Kurt Elling, Randy Brecker, Marilyn Mazur and John Scofield, and has won multiple Danish Music Awards Jazz.
Signe Bisgaard took office as new orchestra conductor on May 1, 2025 and replaced Anders Ørbæk, who left the position after seven years with the orchestra.
The album Where Everything Always Is - a collaboration with Søren Ulrik Thomsen, Det Glemte Kvarter and composer Mikkel B. Grevsen - was released on January 31, 2025 and is nominated for DMA Jazz 2025 as Jazz Release of the Year.
Jakob Buchanan won the award as Jazz Composer of the Year at DMA Jazz 2024 for the major work Song & Wind, created in collaboration with Aarhus Jazz Orchestra, Copenhagen Boys' Choir and Marilyn Mazur.
The Finance Act 2025 re-designated Aarhus Jazz Orchestra as a base ensemble for the next four years, which ensures continued state support.
Musikhuset Aarhus and Aarhus Jazz Orchestra entered into a new collaboration with the aim of bringing jazz to even more Aarhus residents and the city's guests.
Aarhus Jazz Orchestra celebrates jazz legends like Ella Fitzgerald and Frank Sinatra with a 17-piece big band led by conductor Nikolai Bøgelund, featuring vocalists Signe Juhl Jensen and Jacob Madsen Kvols.
Aarhus Jazz Orchestra celebrates jazz history's greatest voices with Signe Juhl Jensen and Jacob Madsen Kvols. A 17-piece big band led by conductor Nikolai Bøgelund performs classics by Ella Fitzgerald and Frank Sinatra.
Aarhus Jazz Orchestra performs the work BiBob & Bibi with soloist Signe Juhl Jensen and conductor Nikolai Bøgelund.