Jan Willem’s Luyken NSJ

North Sea Jazz just gets better and better, according to Jan Willem Luyken, who headed the Dutch event for the fourth time since switching from running Mojo Concerts’ marketing and communications department.

He hasn’t missed a single edition of NSJ since 1982 and believes that, with the trauma and uncertainty of the 2006 move from The Hague to Rotterdam well behind it, the world-famous jazz bash has never been more popular.

This year – the fourth time staged at Rotterdam Ahoy arena – the crowd was very close to a 70,000 sellout.

It’s the second consecutive year that it’s reached the crowd levels it achieved at The Hague, having attracted 62,000 and 65,000 respectively for its first two Rotterdam gatherings.

The acts on the July 10-12 bill included James Taylor, Duffy, Adele, young Chinese piano virtuoso Lang Lang, George Benson, B.B. King, Burt Bacharach and Herbie Hancock.