We Are 6 is the winner of Erasmus Jazz Prijs 2019 , the jury (Joost Patocka, Friederike Darius and Frank van Berkel) expressed their esteem for the high quality of the compositions: “every song told a little story” and defined the way of playing as “contemporary jazz in the broadest sense of the word”
The band has constantly searched for rules to break and boundaries to cross, playing original compositions whilst exploring the infinite possibilities of six exceptional musicians working in perfect synchrony. The group seeks through its members a unique sound and flair for live performance. The tunes mainly written by the drummer (Rodrigo Ballesteros) represent the writing process of looking for new ways to improvise in complex forms, rhythms and harmonies; in which the soloists need to give their full potential on stage.
With a style based on the traditional jazz sound, including lots of odd meter rhythms, each member gets teir own space during the performance. The band consists of six young musicians from all around the world, which means that each of them has something unique to add due to their origins and personal approach.
Even though We Are 6 is active in the dutch jazz scene just since 2019, they have already performed in many prestigious festivals and venues like North Sea Jazz Festival, Jazz International Rotterdam, Take note! Jazz Festival , Otis Festival, Lantarenvenster (Rotterdam), Dizzy Cafè (Rotterdam) and De Doelen (Rotterdam)
Loek van den Berg – altsaxofoon
Andrea Leone – tenorsaxofoon
Adrian Bifano – gitaar
Philipp Frenzel – piano
Jonathan Ho – contrabas
Rodrigo Ballesteros – drums