Multi-award winning saxophonist Kasper Rietkerk, collaborated with artists as Eddie Chacon, John Carroll Kirby, Jean Toussaint, and many others. He is also a member of the Emma Rawicz Jazz Orchestra. His diverse career includes appearances on various TV and radio programs. Kasper has been awarded with the VDEF Next Step Award in 2025 by VandenEnde Foundation and with the Brubeck Living Legacy Prize in July 2024, by the Royal Academy of Music and Brubeck Living Legacy. The album, The Happy Worrier, that he recorded with the prize money from the Brubeck Living Legacy was launched at PizzaExpress Live on the 23rd of June, 2025. This is an intergenerational project that features some of the UK’s greatest musicians: John Parricelli, Tom Herbert, Jonah Evans and Rebecka Edlund.

“Rietkerk’s writing is impeccable: memorable themes, unexpected twists, and, above all else, space for the band to breathe.” – Tom Spargo, Jazzwise (2025)

In 2023, Kasper and his London-based sextet KRSIX recorded a full-length album, The Island, released on Zennez Records, which won the Edison Jazz Award 2025 in the Newcomer category. On June 24, 2024, it launched at a sold-out PizzaExpress Live Soho, followed by a tour through the UK. The Island features original compositions by Kasper, arranged for his sextet, along with a string quartet, and includes guest appearances by Emma Rawicz, Anatole Muster, and Immy Churchill. In January 2025, the band released a new EP “Live in London,” featuring more of Kasper’s original compositions. The album and EP have been played on radio shows in the UK and Netherlands.