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Jazz and the Red Light District: the romance is back!
AMSTERDAM – Jazz and Amsterdam’s Red Light District are enjoying a renaissance! What was once taken for granted is once again resonating through the historic heart of the city. During the upcoming 13th edition of the Red Light Jazz Festival, taking place from June 5 to June 7, the neighborhood will come alive with spectacular performances. But those who look—and listen—closely will notice that jazz in the Red Light District has long since become more than just a festival phenomenon.
Over the past few years, a vibrant new jazz scene has quietly emerged in and around the Red Light District. From summer concerts at iconic venues such as the Brokers Bar in the Beurs van Berlage to late-night jam sessions in student cafés and cultural meeting places, the area has once again become a breeding ground for improvisation, connection, and musical creativity. What first became visible during the festival has evolved into a thriving musical network that is becoming increasingly rooted in the neighborhood.
Festival director Marcel Kaatee confirms this development:
“What we are seeing is that jazz no longer comes alive only during Red Light Jazz. It has become part of the everyday cultural life in and around the Red Light District. That is exactly what we envisioned when we launched the festival in 2014.”
The connection between jazz and Amsterdam’s old city center runs deep. In the early twentieth century, dance halls along the Zeedijk were already embracing jazz—at the time a controversial new genre. In the post-war years, the Red Light District and the Nieuwmarkt area became a melting pot of cultures, where Surinamese musicians, American soldiers, and Dutch artists met and performed together. Jazz legends such as Kid Dynamite, Teddy Cotton, and Rita Reys became inseparably linked to this era.
The rise of pop music in the 1960s and the spread of hard drugs in the 1970s led to the disappearance of many live jazz venues. Since 2010, however, the area has witnessed a remarkable revival. The relocation of the Conservatorium van Amsterdam from Amsterdam South to the city center in 2008 undoubtedly contributed to this resurgence, with the Red Light District becoming a new home base for students to live, perform, and collaborate.
Today, jazz is once again flourishing in the Wallen area, supported by a growing number of concert series, jam sessions, and venues that are repositioning Amsterdam’s historic center as a vibrant jazz district. This revival is visible throughout the year.
Alongside the Red Light Jazz Festival and the jazz activities organized by the cultural platform Red Light Arts & Culture at the Brokers Bar and other neighborhood venues, the calendar of recurring jazz events continues to expand. Highlights include the Sunday Afternoon Jazz Sessions at Café ZILT (held every second Sunday of the month) and the weekly Sunday jam sessions at ’Skek and De Engelbewaarder.
New venues are also helping to shape this development, including Contra, a jazz restaurant housed in the former Amsterdam Academic Club, featuring live music from Wednesday through Sunday and late-night jam sessions. Other contributors include Theater Mascini and the Dutch Courage Cocktail Bar, where concerts, improvisation sessions, and crossover evenings regularly take place.
Together, these initiatives have created a growing network of venues and sessions that once again positions the Red Light District as a true jazz neighborhood. Not only during the Red Light Jazz Festival, but throughout the year, the music continues to thrive—every week, every session, and every improvisation.
For more information and the full Red Light Jazz Festival 2026 program, visit:
www.redlightjazz.com
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