Mo van der Does

Mo van der Does, Amsterdam based Dutch jazz saxophonist

When Mo van der Does (1997) was 10 years old, he discovered that the violin wasn’t really his instrument and therefore switched to playing the alto saxophone. It turned out to be a good decision. People like Charlie Parker and Sonny Rollins inspired him through the records of his father and made him want to play jazz music. For four years, starting from the age of 14, he took part in the young talent program from the Conservatory of Amsterdam, called the Junior Jazz College. After the Junior Jazz College he was admitted to the bachelor jazz saxophone in Amsterdam. At the Conservatory of Amsterdam he gets lessons from Ferdinand Povel, Simon Rigter and Albert Beltman and attended masterclasses with amongst others Mark Turner, Dick Oatts, Benjamin Herman and Joris Roelofs. In November 2014, Mo won the first prize in his category at the prestigious Prinses Christina Concours with his band The Jazz Commotion. A guest performance with the Jazz Orchestra of the Concertgebouw was one of his prizes. This took place at the 2016 edition of the North Sea Jazz Festival, where the orchestra played with Dr. Lonnie Smith as a guest soloist. Mo played at places like the Royal Concertgebouw, the North Sea Jazz Club, Gooisch Jazz Festival, Muziekgebouw Eindhoven and Grachtenfestival Amsterdam. Mo mainly plays alto, but also picks up a soprano, tenor or a clarinet occasionally.

Awards

Prinses Christina Concours 2014 - first prize

Tags