Django Meets Mussorgsky – Tim Kliphuis Trio

Award-winning Dutch violinist Tim Kliphuis has created a brand-new style that embraces classical, gypsy jazz and folk. Hailed as a “current-day improvising Paganini”, his inclusive and innovative approach to music has united audiences and is influencing a new generation of string players. His improvised sound is totally new and appeals to a wide range of audiences and yet is steeped in tradition. Tim’s trio’s electrifying performances have made them firm favourites on the festival scene. Highlights include the Amsterdam Concertgebouw, North Sea and Edinburgh Jazz Festivals, Richard Strauss Festival and Fiddles On Fire.

Tim first made his name playing with the fiery European gypsy guitarists, then fine-tuned his personal style which has subsequently taken him to classical, jazz and folk venues around the world. The Richard Strauss Festival in Bavaria was the first to commission Tim’s trademark improvisations on classical music, which now include Bach (Brandenburg), Vivaldi (The Gypsy Seasons), Vaughan Williams, Britten and many others. Tim has shared the stage with legends Frankie Gavin, Richard Galliano, Fapy Lafertin and Les Paul and has been lauded for his musical genius by Nigel Kennedy. He is still in touch with the traditional Sinti gypsies through regular performances with The Rosenberg Trio.

Kliphuis has seen how music can influence people through the heart – a very different route than the mind. As a composer, he searches for ways to get people to actively care for the planet. For his newest piece Kosmos, he asked five Dutch star scientists about this, and translated their stories and knowledge into music. His journey can be heard in the Dutch public radio podcast Componeren of Verzuipen. In 2022, his climate change suite The Five Elements accompanied the Royal mission to Stockholm and in 2023, he performed it for the United Nations General Assembly in New York. His 2021 Triple Concerto Phoenix Rising (commissioned by NTR ZaterdagMatinee) considers our past, present and future.

An in-demand educator and author of the best-selling book Gypsy Jazz Violin, Tim is Professor of String Improvisation at the Conservatoire of Amsterdam and Director of the gypsy jazz summer school Grappelli-Django Camp. In 2022, he started the world’s first comprehensive online course for jazz violin, Tim Kliphuis Studio.

As a Sony Classical artist, Kliphuis recorded Vivaldi-inspired Reflecting the Seasons in 2016, followed by Brandenburg, based on Bach’s Concertos, and his own Ulysses Violin Concerto in 2018. He was awarded the Scottish Jazz Award, South African Woordfees Award and the Polish ‘Swing Raven’ Prize.

After his master’s degree in classical violin at the Amsterdam Conservatoire, Kliphuis studied with the European Sinti gypsies. He recorded and toured with gypsy guitar legends Fapy Lafertin, The Rosenberg Trio and Angelo Debarre.

An invitation to the Richard Strauss Festival in Germany started the Tim Kliphuis Trio (Nigel Clark, guitar and Roy Percy, double bass) whose mission is a ‘total music’ without stylistic barriers. They have performed at the Amsterdam Canal Concert, curated the world fiddle night at Celtic Connections Glasgow, celebrated Stéphane Grappelli at the Django Reinhardt Festival in Samois-sur-Seine and shared the stage with Les Paul, Richard Galliano, Frankie Gavin, Martin Hayes and Daniel Hope. The Trio have collaborated with the Netherlands and Tallinn Chamber Orchestras, The Hague and Cape Town Philharmonic and Sinfonietta Amsterdam and toured America, South Africa and Russia.

In 2025, the Tim Kliphuis Trio celebrate 19 years of touring, going from strength to strength.

Of the two Sony albums Reflecting the Seasons and Brandenburg, their innovative new version of Vivaldi’s masterpiece hit the number one spot on the iTunes charts.

The other trio members are:

Nigel Clark (guitar) is one of the world’s top acoustic guitarists. Born in Scotland, and residing in Dublin, he began his professional career at the age of 18 in London. In the late 1980s, Nigel joined the Glasgow band Hue & Cry. He recorded and toured with them in the UK, Europe and the USA, and contributed arrangements to the band’s top ten singles and albums. High profile collaborations followed with Moya Brennan (lead singer with Clannad) and soul superstar Gloria Gaynor, for BBC TV.

His first recording as a leader, Worldwide Sound, included multi award-winning pianist Brian Kellock and Chick Corea’s saxophonist Tim Garland, reaching the top ten in the UK jazz charts. Nigel appeared at the North Sea Jazz Festival at the invitation of guitarist Jan Akkerman, and featured in a guitar ensemble with him and Terje Rypdal. Since then, he has shared the stage with a host of jazz stars including Carla Bley, Steve Swallow and guitarist Philip Catherine.

A lasting musical connection was formed with legendary Scottish vocalist Carol Kidd, including many albums and extensive tours of the Far East. Nigel was a driving force behind the Scottish Guitar Quartet, worked with folk trio Koshka and the Nordic Chamber Orchestra under the direction of Maria Eklund, and has released a solo guitar album Under the Stars.

Roy Percy (double bass) brings the driving rhythms of New Orleans to the Trio; his unique slap bass techniques are unrivalled in Europe. Roy has been a dynamic force in many bands since the 1980s, including the Classic Jazz Orchestra.

He has collaborated with legendary American jazz artists Al Casey, Slim Gaillard and Marty Grosz, as well as top UK musicians Forrie Cairns, Alan Barnes and David Newton. Early visits to the Ascona Jazz Festival led to tours of Switzerland, Germany and Austria.

Roy has also been a frequent transatlantic visitor, appearing at the Sacramento Jazz Jubilee, LA’s Sweet and Hot Festival and Canada’s Victoria Jazz Festival. Nearer home, at the Edinburgh Jazz Festival, he has worked with many visiting international stars including Lillian Boutté, Fapy Lafertin, Duke Heitger and Evan Christopher.

How do they do it?

Tim writes the first sketches, which are then rehearsed and tried out on tour. Over time, the pieces grow organically into their final shape; but even then, every performance will be different. This is the art of improvisation. It requires a disciplined group sound – something the Trio have truly developed in their many years together.

In their concerts, the Tim Kliphuis Trio use a technique they call ‘Total Music’, an allusion to the ‘total football’ of the legendary Dutch school, where each player can take over the role of any other player. In any part of the concert, the three musicians will be alternately leading and accompanying, making the resulting band sound a combination of all three personalities.

Of the music you hear, around 60% is improvised, or composed on the spot. Because of this, every concert is a unique event that cannot be repeated. The Trio have perfected their art through a close collaboration since 2006. They have a very tightly forged musical bond that some describe as ‘telepathy’ and that combines the inspiration of the night with meticulous daily practice on every tour.

As a final thought, classical music and improvisation are not as distant as one would think. Until roughly a century ago, most musicians played more than one instrument, were able to compose and even improvise on a theme. This tradition stemmed from early music and was cemented in the days of Mozart, Beethoven and Chopin, where improvisations were a part of any virtuoso’s concert programme. The Trio see themselves as musicians in this tradition. They love to present the wonderful music they have come across, partly improvised, partly written and hope that future generations of musicians and concertgoers will once again come to see improvisation as part of their staple diet.

Tim has a Website .