About Alexander:

Alexander Hartgers is a Los Angeles based jazz trumpet player, composer, arranger, conductor and educator.

He received his Bachelors of Music in Jazz Studies in 1999 as a cum-laude graduate at Artez Music University in Zwolle, The Netherlands. His teacher was Jan Wessels, and Alexander also followed lessons with Ack van Rooyen, Claudio Roditi, Bobby Shew, Ruud Breuls and Tom Kirkpatrick. Alexander relocated in 2013 to Los Angeles, California, USA.

Alexander Hartgers (born 1973 in The Netherlands) discovered the trumpet when he was very young and he followed lessons with jazz trumpet teacher Herman Nijkamp at that time.

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Alexander has performed all over the globe with successful orchestras, now that he is settled in Los Angeles he works as a studio musician and has recorded for commercials and movies including “Robert Downey Jr.” and “Brad Pitt”. And studio work for the original Latin Hip Hop Queen “Crystal Sierra” 

and music producer “Dr. Dre”

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Played with: Chaka Khan, Oleta Adams, Georgie Fame, Smokey Robinson, Jimmy Haslip, Fay Claassen, George McGrae, Eddie Taylor, Bob Mintzer, Roy Hargrove, Junkie XL, Claudio Roditi, Willie Jones III, Philip Harper, Dmitri Matheny, Pamela Stanley, Ack Van Rooyen, Lee Towers, Mike Booth, John Marshall, Richard Studholme, Hans Dulfer, Amina Figarova, Benjamin Herman, Ed Calle, Coco Rouzier, Fred Schreuders, Herman Brood, Andre Hazes, Eric Vloeimans, Wim Bot, Rini Swinkels, Jan Wessels, Jarmo Hoogendijk, Ferdinand Povel, Bert Pfeiffer, Jeroen Rol, Loet Van Der Lee, Ray Bruinsma, Hans Dekker, Rob Horsting, Henk Meutgeert, etc....

Alexander composed, arranged & recorded some of his Salsa tracks, and played in Miami, FL. (USA) together with a.o. saxplayer Ed Calle (with Arturo Sandoval & Gloria Estefan).

Performed at: Onboard many cruise ships worldwide, NorthSeaJazzFestival, YesGoudaJazzFestival, Metropolis, BimHuis, De Tor, Uitmarkt, Freedom Festivals, Melkweg, Dias Latinos, Heineken Music Hall, MTV Awards, and lots of theaters in USA, Holland, Germany, Belgium, etc......

Alexander has worked as a studio musician and jazz trumpet teacher & combo/ensemble teacher at music schools, as a conductor with many big bands, as a manager, organizer & promoter for a variety of projects, as a music composer & arranger, and he has toured & performed all over the world with a variety of bands & artists (including Europe, USA, Caribbean)

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Tours with the "Soul Of Motown"

Concerts with "Dvora Davis Ensemble" (U.K. jazz vocalist)

Musical "Fame"

Shows with "MotownHead"

Concerts with the Royal Army Orchestra "Johan Willem Friso"

NoordPool Orchestra (www.noordpoolorkest.nl)

Projects with Jeff Zwart (fine studio guitarist a.o.: Nick&Simon)

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Alexander also managed & started up 2 successful Latin bands:

Salsa orchestra "Nueva Caliente".

Latin band "Frank Torres y Banda".

With both bands he has recorded in the studio, and played many concerts & festivals.

Nueva Caliente played with fine Cuban singer Eduardo Herrera.

And FTyB made it to the final of LatinFanatics in 2010!

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Alexander has performed, recorded and worked with: Herman Brood Big Band, Millennium Jazz Orchestra, Dual City Concert Big Band, Holland Big Band, Salsabor. 

He also did some big band projects under the direction of Henk Meutgeert (Jazz Orchestra of the Concertgebouw) and Jerry Van Rooyen (WDR big band & Metropole Orchestra). 

Alexander played with numerous showbands (Balance, DayLight Superband, among others) which accompanied also famous (pop) artists. 

Played in the band "Mimezine" from Amsterdam, which consisted of Junkie XL bandmembers, they played at big famous festivals, and as opening acts with a.o. Junkie XL.

If Alexander could not play the shows with Mimezine, he called upon trumpeter Jan Van Duikeren (trumpet player of Candy Dulfer)

Alexander was a band member & soloist with the New Metronome Big Band from Groningen, The Netherlands, which accompanied a diversity of well known artists and provided the music at (inter)national (latin)dance competitions. This Big Band could be seen regularly in theaters and on TV (SBS6). They played a lot of shows in the beautiful historic Kurhaus in Scheveningen (The Hague), and they regularly played with singer Lee Towers, and did jazz-concert series with Dutch jazz trumpeter Eric Vloeimans.

​Alexander started up & managed a successful jazz/be-bop band, "The JazzFactor" who got a record deal with Munich Records.

Played for many years with his own "Alexander Hartgers Jazz Trio" inspired by the intimate trio sound of trumpeter Chet Baker. The jazz trio consisted of trumpet, guitar, and acoustic bass which was played by Henk Haverhoek who played & toured with the likes of Johnny Griffin, Freddie Hubbard, Dexter Gordon and Chet Baker himself.

Alexander played in the horn section of Bluesband "The Backbones" which accompanied famous international blues artists On-Tour.

Shows with Musical "Fame". Theater tours with "The Soul Of Motown".

Played for many years with "Organic" (Funky JazzDance & groovy Lounge music) and recorded several albums.

Alexander was a member for many years with the "Guus Tangelder Big Band" and recorded several albums.

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Alexander was involved in the launch, and trumpeter of a successful, popular and special Latin band called "Estudiantina Ensemble" Under direction of guitarist/singer Ricardo Bekema and renowned master percussionist Steve Boston. The band played traditional Cuban music in a traditional setup including original Cuban instruments like tres guitar & timpani instruments. The band played with Cuban hot-shots like Rey Cabrera, Eva Grinan and Jonas Vinente. The Estudiantina Ensemble operates in dedication, preservation and continuation of the traditional danzon music in the Estudiantina tradition from Santiago de Cuba and the Eastern Orient provinces of Cuba.

In addition to the vocals, this style uses two guitars, the tres-guitar, bass, trumpet or flute, claves, guiro, maracas and traditional pailitas cubanas, and they obtained an original set of these very rare timpani from Santiago de Cuba, which brings a special tight sound.

In 2007, the ensemble received an official invitation from the Cuban Ministry of Culture, “Centro de la Musica Provincial” and a personal signed invitation from none other than “Eliades Ochoa Bustamante” (Buena Vista Social Club), to come and play at the 45th edition of the prestigious “International Festival de la Trova”, “Pepe Sánchez”. And so it was that the Estudiantina Ensemble was playing at the legendary stages of the Casa de la Trova, the Plaza de Marti and the Casa de la Musica, in front of the cameras of the National Cuban state television and a wildly enthusiastic Cuban crowd…

In the long life of the project, The Estudiantina Ensemble now has received international fame and gives lectures, workshops and concerts in theaters and festivals around the globe!

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