Born 1969 in Vejle, Denmark. Jesper Riis started his music career as a cornettist in the youth brass band "Vejle Garden" and was later involved with for instance a big band and a salsa band under the local school of music. Having finished school he started studying at The Rhythmic Music Conservatory in Copenhagen in 1989. After 8 months of studies in Miami, where he had his dose of salsa and also consulted Arturo Sandoval, he returned to Copenhagen and majored in the trumpet in 1994. He later returned to the Conservatory for a period of two years to study composition under the guidance of Bob Brookmeyer. Together with the Swedish tenor saxophonist Henrik Frisk, he founded in 1992 the big band The Orchestra which that same year was invited to The Montreaux Festival of Jazz. During the last ten years he has worked and performed with a large number of Danish and foreign musicians.
www.jesperriis.dk