Tony Roe received the 2024 Boy Edgar Award
28 February 2025
On Wednesday, February 26, pianist, composer and bandleader Tony Roe was awarded the 2024 Boy Edgar Award at the BIMHUIS in Amsterdam. The Boy Edgar Award is the most important award for jazz and improvised music in the Netherlands. Roe received this award for his innovative approach to jazz. He brings together technology, improvisation, and interaction with the audience in a unique way.
Innovative and boundary-pushing
The jury praised Roe as a musician who stretches and renews the possibilities of jazz. “With his unorthodox approach and playful use of digital techniques, Tony Roe creates a total experience in which music, images and interaction come together. He not only knows how to entertain his audience, but also how to actively involve them in his musical adventures,” according to the jury report.
With his trio Tin Men and the Telephone and solo projects such as Modular Piano, Roe is constantly looking for new ways to present jazz. His work is characterized by crossovers with other disciplines and a continuous exploration of the boundaries between composition and improvisation.
Read the full jury report on Fondspodiumkunsten.nl (Dutch only).
Praising jury comments
Viktorien van Hulst, director of the Performing Arts Fund NL, took the audience through the jury’s appreciation:
“There is great admiration for your craftsmanship. There is at least as much appreciation for the way in which you use your skills to innovate jazz. As a keyboardist and bandleader you use many innovative techniques that do not overshadow the music, but actually take it further. The jury calls you an intelligent musician who always seeks the next level in his thinking.”
– Viktorien van Hulst, director of the Performing Arts Fund NL
Festive presentation at the BIMHUIS
The festive awards ceremony took place at the BIMHUIS in Amsterdam, where jazz guitarist and composer Reinier Baas presented the award to Tony Roe. Pianist Helena Basilova provided the musical accompaniment. The program was varied, with performances by Roe’s jazz piano trio Tin Men and the Telephone, consisting of Jamie Peet (drums), Pat Cleaver (bass) and Tony Roe (piano). Roe also played with guest musicians such as Ben van Gelder (saxophone), Doriene Marselje (harp) and percussionists Lidrick Solognier and Vernon Chatlein. Video and software development was done by Marcel Wierckx. The performance had an interactive twist: guests could record and submit voice notes beforehand, which were then creatively incorporated into the performance.
In addition to the honorable title, Roe received a cash prize of €25,000 and the bronze interchangeable sculpture John Coltrane, made by sculptor Jan Wolkers. The evening was festively concluded by Deejay Irie.
About the Boy Edgar Award
The Boy Edgar Award is the most important award in Dutch jazz and improvised music. The award is named after the Amsterdam jazz trumpeter and big band leader Boy Edgar. Edgar made an important contribution to the recognition of jazz as a high-quality art form.
The Performing Arts Fund NL has been organizing the selection process since 2022 and awards the award every year to a performing musician who contributes to the genre in a special way. The award is supported by Buma Cultuur, Sena Performers and North Sea Jazz. Previous winners of the award include Monica Akihary, Ronald Snijders, Ack van Rooyen and Tineke Postma.