A generation younger than artists like Keith Jarrett and Pat Metheny, the pianist is one of the most acclaimed, prolific and unique jazz artists of his time. Originally from Copenhagen, Denmark, Doky started his professional career at age 13 and soon after began working with American jazz legend, Thad Jones. Since, Doky has released over 40 albums as a leader, has collaborated with the greatest artists in jazz and has won countless awards and accolades around the world. When he released his debut album in 1986, the American jazz writer, Dan Morgenstern wrote: “There is nothing more encouraging and satisfying than to encounter for the first time a young Jazz musician of real stature, someone who can make you feel that the future of the music is in good hands. There can not be the slightest doubt that Doky’s talent is of real significance ‐ that rare thing in the Jazz of our time, an original voice in the great tradition”.
Since then, Niels Lan Doky has had an extensive and unusual career, which - aside from performing, arranging, composing and producing music - also has included work as a film director, author, venue owner and public speaker. He was Knighted by Her Majesty Queen Margrethe II of Denmark in 2010 and has appeared on bestseller lists in Europe and Asia. He has lived in Boston, New York, Paris and London before returning to his hometown of Copenhagen in 2013, where he gave the TEDx Talk “How Jazz Wisdom Will Change Your Life” in 2016. Truly a global cosmopolitan, he has performed for many prominent world figures, including Pope Jean Paul II, actor Roger Moore, French Prime Minister Lionel Jospin, HRH the Prince Henrik of Denmark, a.o. He continues this legacy today as a recording and touring musician, as the musical director of the not-for-profit Niels Lan Doky International Jazz Collective, and as the founder of Helsingør, Denmark’s new Sound Dues festival, debuting in 2022.