Copenhagen Jazz Orchestra - formerly known as The Orchestra - has been one of Denmark's leading big bands since the mid-1990s, shaping the modern large-ensemble sound in Danish and Scandinavian jazz. The orchestra pairs a warm, flexible chamber-music approach with a genuinely global outlook, collaborating with musicians from India, Cuba, West Africa and Brazil. Projects such as 'Indian Skies', composed by saxophonist Lars Møller, and the Afro-Cuban 'Havana' programme illustrate how the band pursues cross-cultural music-making as a serious artistic practice.
Copenhagen Jazz Orchestra performs 'Indian Skies' at Aarhus Jazz Festival (2 July, Musikhuset Aarhus) and Copenhagen Jazz Festival (3 July, Den Sorte Diamant) as part of a cultural exchange project with Dansk Kulturinstitut.
The orchestra has announced an additional 'Indian Skies' concert on 28 October 2026 at Portalen in Greve.
Copenhagen Jazz Orchestra performed 'Kind of Blue - Revisited' at Baltoppen LIVE on 29 October 2025 - a big band interpretation of Miles Davis' iconic album arranged by Lars Møller.
With the project 'Havana', Copenhagen Jazz Orchestra performed at Copenhagen Jazz Festival on 12 July 2024 in Den Sorte Diamant with Afro-Cuban percussionists Raydel Medina and Rune Harder Olesen.
Copenhagen Jazz Orchestra's album with Aarhus Jazz Orchestra and Gambian percussionists - 'Wolof Dream Factory' - was named Album of the Year 2020 by Jazzspecial and nominated for Danish Music Awards Jazz.
