Stichting Misha Mengelberg

Misha Mengelberg (5 June 1935 – 3 March 2017) was a highly influential Dutch avant-garde jazz pianist, composer, and a central pioneer of European free improvisation. Known for his wry humor, unpredictable musical subversions, and distinct artistic philosophy, Mengelberg fundamentally reshaped the landscape of contemporary improvised music.Life and CareerMusical Roots: Born in Kiev to a prominent musical family, his father was conductor Karel Mengelberg and his mother was harpist Rahel Draber. He later studied composition and music theory at the Royal Conservatory of The Hague.Early Recognition: He gained international attention early in his career by performing on American multi-instrumentalist Eric Dolphy’s historic final studio recording, Last Date (1964). Read more…

Zijn we nu reeds aan het oefenen voor het volgende carnaval? Trekt het circus naar de stad? Of is dit een hommage aan de Amerikaanse componist Charles Ives? Niets van dit alles en dit alles tegelijkertijd. Het is de Instant Composers Pool – volgend jaar bestaan ze 60 jaar –  in één van die onvergetelijke composities van de oprichter en voormalige pianist van dit gezelschap: Misha Mengelberg. (Lees verder)

Goede Maten celebrates the birthdays and lasting legacy of Misha Mengelberg (5 June 1935 – 3 March 2017) and Louis Andriessen (6 June 1939 – 1 July 2021). Both close friends, composers and improvisers, they not only shook up Dutch music but left their mark across the world.

Tonight, Goede Maten shows that great artists do not only live on through their finished work: they remain forces that keep generating new encounters, through archival discoveries, musical friendships, rediscoveries and new generations of performers. A colourful gathering pays tribute to them, featuring the mighty ICP Orchestra, Cristina Zavalloni, Gerard Bouwhuis, Heleen Hulst and De Kickers, directed by Jan Maarten Koeman.

Het Misha Kosmos Festival 2026 vindt plaats van 25 mei – 7 juni. Het festival eert en viert de eigenzinnige en wonderlijke muziekwereld van componist, pianist en filosoof Misha Mengelberg (1935-2017), wiens muziek springlevend is en musici tot over de hele wereld blijft inspireren. Met in onze zaal onder anderen het ICP Orchestra, Goede Maten (ode aan Misha Mengelberg en Louis Andriessen) en een Intergalactic Night met Ernst Glerum en Terrie Ex.

Artchipel Orchestra represents the vibrant heart of the Italian jazz scene. The Milanese collective, founded and led by drummer and composer Ferdinando Faraò, has already been proclaimed Best Formation of the Year four times in the leading Top Jazz election of Italian trade magazine Musica Jazz. Artchipel Orchestra exudes a distinctly international spirit, and has enjoyed special collaborations with musicians such as Keith Tippett and Enrico Rava. The output of the orchestra is now up to eight albums, and ranges from original works to masterful reinventions of compositions from the 1970s and 1980s. Their latest release is entitled Officine Mengelberg, and contains pieces by the famous Dutch pianist and composer Misha Mengelberg from ICP Orchestra. At the festival, Artchipel Orchestra will play pieces from that album (for the first time ever in a live setting), with special guests such as Michael Moore, who is still performing with Misha’s own ICP Orchestra.

Guus Janssen has taken Misha’s chair at the piano with the ICP orchestra, and is a brilliant composer and performer. Here is his new  CD with a few tunes by Misha Mengelberg and his musical friends.

The nice cover is by drummer and visual artist Wim Janssen – with Misha, Herbie Nichols, Horace Silver, Duke Ellington, Abdullah Ibrahim, Sean Bergin, Thelonious Monk… The three musicians in the back are Guus, Bert and Wim.

Celebrating the music of MISHA MENGELBERG at the jazz sessions and impro concerts in town leading up to the ICP concert at BIMHUIS on June 7. Join us to explore the Misha Kosmos!

During his tenure as a professor at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam, Misha would rate the work of his students with OK/TOK/NOT (OK, somewhat OK, not OK). ZOK (very OK) was also in existence but almost never awarded .

Ivo Schouten, a former student of Misha and now a graphic artist, honored the rating system with a poster.

Zondag 7 juni 2026 – Wereldwijd toonaangevend orkest improviseert alle kanten op.

Het ICP Orchestra, al jaren een begrip. In 1967 stond Han Bennink samen met pianist/componist Misha Mengelberg aan de wieg van dit veelzijdige orkest, dat nog altijd bekend staat als één van de meest creatieve groepen in de moderne jazz. Mengelberg overleed in 2017, maar zijn composities worden door de verder vrijwel vaste bezetting springlevend gehouden. Vertrekpunt is Mengelbergs oeuvre, maar verder klinkt geen enkel ICP-concert hetzelfde.