A Dutch jazz trio of trumpet, guitar, bass and vocals that travels to Cologne for weddings, corporate dinners and parties.

How it works

What a jazz trio does at an event

A jazz trio does one part of an evening beautifully: the stretch when guests arrive, talk, eat and toast. Trumpet, guitar, bass and vocals fill a reception, a seated dinner or a ceremony with a warm, living sound that a table of ten can still talk over. What a trio does not do is fill a late dance floor, which needs a band or a DJ. This is where hosts go wrong most often, booking a quiet trio and expecting a packed floor at the end of the night. The smart move is to give each part of the evening the right format.

Matching the format to the moment

A Dutch jazz trio that travels to Cologne

We are honest about what we are: a boutique music agency from Amsterdam, not a Cologne supplier with an office on the Rhine. Cologne is about two and a half hours from Amsterdam, and Germany is one of our growing markets. For a wedding, a corporate dinner or a private party in Cologne and the Rhineland, our jazz trio travels in, plays the exact act you saw on video, and one coordinator runs the booking from the first email to the last note. You are not booking a local ensemble blind, the way you cannot audition one from another city, you are booking a vetted act with travel shown as a transparent, separate line.

The acts we send to Cologne

Our core act for the jazz part of an evening is Dupa Trio, a jazz trio of trumpet, guitar, bass and vocals that moves through jazz standards, bossa nova and contemporary jazz and carries the ceremony, reception and dinner. For couples and companies who want vintage glamour over straight jazz, Velvet Jazz is a band of conservatory-trained musicians who turn modern pop hits into 1940s swing and jazz arrangements. We do not send an act we have not seen play ourselves, and we will tell you upfront when a soloist or a duo carries the same moment for less.

Jazz trio for a Cologne wedding

For a wedding a jazz trio covers more hours of the day than almost any other format. The same trio carries the processional, plays the drinks reception at conversation level and accompanies dinner, before a band or a DJ takes the dance floor in the evening. The lead vocalist can sing in English, German and several languages, which matters for an international Rhineland crowd. We plan the songs for the processional, a quiet moment and the recessional with you in advance, so each part of the ceremony hits the right note.

Jazz trio for a corporate dinner in Cologne

For a corporate event a jazz trio is the right choice for the reception, networking and a seated dinner, anywhere the music should carry the conversation rather than drown it. Cologne has a dense corporate and trade-fair landscape, and for an award or a product reveal we pair the trio with a higher-energy act for the single big moment. For the full company party with a dance floor see our music for a corporate celebration page.

Prices for a jazz trio in Cologne

A jazz trio starts at EUR 1,400. A soloist for a quiet reception starts at EUR 600 and an acoustic duo at EUR 1,000. If you want to close the night with a dance floor, a four-piece band starts at EUR 3,000 with sound and light included, each extra musician adds EUR 500, and a DJ is EUR 850, or EUR 1,500 with its own sound and light. Travel from Amsterdam to Cologne and any overnight stay are quoted as a separate, itemised line, so you see exactly what the trip costs rather than finding it buried in an inflated fee. Send us your date, venue and headcount and we come back within one business day.

How travel to Cologne works

Cologne is a direct drive of roughly two and a half hours from Amsterdam, and our acts play regularly in the east and south of the Netherlands near the German border. We bring the musicians in, agree sound and setup with your venue in advance, and for an outdoor event we confirm power and a weather fallback before the contract is signed. One Lupa coordinator owns every moving part. For the wider Dutch jazz picture see jazz band Netherlands and jazz trio Amsterdam, for a wedding across the border our destination wedding band from the Netherlands page, and the full roster at ons artiestenbureau.

Common mistakes booking a jazz trio

• Expecting a dance floor from a trio. A jazz trio carries the reception and dinner, for the party you need a band or a DJ.
• Booking local blind. An ensemble you cannot audition is a risk you can avoid.
• Hiding travel in the fee. Always ask for an itemised travel line.
• Booking late. The best players fill the wedding and December seasons months ahead.
• Underestimating volume outdoors. Outside, even a trio needs light amplification.