Award-winning Dutch saxophonist and composer Kasper Rietkerk is set to release his highly anticipated second album, The Happy Worrier, on 27 June 2025. Encouraged by mentor and Royal Academy Professor Nick Smart, Rietkerk applied for – and won – the inaugural Brubeck Living Legacy Prize, an award that supports promising jazz musicians in the early stages of their careers. “This album represents a step in a new direction for me,” Rietkerk explains. “The BLL Prize gave me focus and discipline, and I was able to work with musicians I admire and trust. The Brubeck family’s support – both personally and financially – was invaluable. It allowed me to bring the sound world I imagined to life.”
Featuring twelve original compositions, The Happy Worrier showcases a stellar ensemble including John Parricelli (guitar), Tom Herbert (double & electric bass), Jonah Evans (drums) and guest vocalist Rebecka Edlund. With a more cinematic atmosphere than Rietkerk’s previous work, the album weaves in folk-inspired melodies and a deep sense of space. The opener, ‘Lost In Glow’, sets the tone with plangent guitar textures and airy saxophone motifs, while ‘The Ceiling’ explores silence and restraint. In contrast, ‘Blueberry Pancake’ grooves with Parricelli’s taut guitar, driving rhythms and Rietkerk’s carefully placed but understatedly powerful blowing. Edlund’s guest appearance on ‘Scream For Silence’ lends the track a limpid, almost sacred tone, while ‘Tea Lights’ and ‘I Don’t Remember Asking Your Opinion’ highlights the band’s improvisational chemistry. “’Tea Lights’ turned out being very different from the way it was composed, and ‘Opinion…’ wasn’t planned – I just turned up with the tune and we played it without any idea about how it would work out. But both turned out well I think.”
The Happy Worrier is dedicated to the memory of Martin Hummel, the late founder of Ubuntu Music and a respected figure in UK jazz. “Without Martin, this album would not exist,” says Rietkerk. “His encouragement meant the world, and I hope he would have been proud of what we’ve created.”
Album Launch:
Monday 23rd June
PizzaExpress Jazz Club, Soho
The Happy Worrier is released on Kasper Rietkerk Records in association with Brubeck Living Legacy, the Royal Academy of Music and ECN Music. Recorded by Giles Barrett at Lightship 95 Studio, mixed by Lendert Andel and mastered by Lennart Haman at Umastering.
The CD edition of the album includes three exclusive bonus tracks: ‘French Balcony’ and alternate versions of ‘Nimbus’ and ‘Scream for Silence’.
Kasper Rietkerk’s early career includes two albums and an EP with Das Sound Kollektiv, a Dutch ensemble known for its genre-crossing +1 project. From 2019 to 2021, he served as lead alto saxophonist for the National Youth Jazz Orchestra of the Netherlands, under the direction of Ruben Hein. In 2022, he released his self-produced solo EP alt.esc. Rietkerk graduated from the Royal Academy of Music a master’s degree in 2023 and won an award for his final exam. Kasper leads KRSIX, a London-based sextet blending jazz with rock and folk influences and released The Island in 2024 (Zennez Records), featured original compositions arranged for sextet and string quartet, with guest appearances from Emma Rawicz, Anatole Muster and Immy Churchill. In January 2025, KRSIX released their EP Live in London, recorded at the Vortex. He has performed and collaborated with Eddie Chacon, John Carroll Kirby, Jean Toussaint and is a current member of the Emma Rawicz Jazz Orchestra.
Founded in 2019 by the family of Dave Brubeck, Brubeck Living Legacy champions the global influence of jazz and its role in culture and civil rights. The prize recognises a young artist who demonstrates excellence in both performance and composition, selected from the student body at the Royal Academy of Music in their final two years of study or within a year of graduation. The 2024 BLL Prize panel comprised Darius Brubeck, Nick Smart (Head of Jazz, Royal Academy of Music), jazz vocalist and ECN Music co-founder Claire Martin OBE and Ubuntu Music founder Martin Hummel.
