Home
FR · EN

Serpentine Orchestra revives the electrifying energy of the great jazz orchestras of the 1920s and 1930s

Serpentine Orchestra is a ten-piece big band led by trumpeter Joë Santoni. Founded in Paris and driven by the new generation of French jazz, it revisits the abundant repertoire of the Roaring Twenties, between swing, hot jazz and New Orleans music, in original arrangements.

The full Serpentine Orchestra
Serpentine Orchestra
Musical direction
Joë Santoni

Trained as a guitarist, Joë took up the trumpet in 2017 and quickly became a specialist of pre-war jazz. Today he leads the Serpentine Orchestra with a simple ambition: to restore jazz to the place it once held in its heyday — that of popular, danceable music.

Much as Django Reinhardt famously had his arrangements transcribed by the clarinettist Hubert Rostaing, Joë composes the orchestra's original arrangements without having learned to read and write music in the conventional way. He works directly with several of the orchestra's musicians, who help him transcribe and shape them.

The ensemble
Angela Strandberg
Trumpet & vocals
A Swedish trumpeter and singer from a family of jazz musicians, Angela has been performing since a very young age. She shares her passion through an expressive voice and a singular energy.
Pablo Castillo
Trumpet
Pablo Castillo is a trumpet player from Andalucía (Spain), specialised in the early styles of jazz, from the 1910s to the 1940s. He completed his studies at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam and then moved to Paris, where he plays regularly, as well as around Europe.
Rudolph Stengel
Trombone
A born-and-bred Parisian, Rudolph trained as a flautist and came up through the French conservatory system. Today he is one of the rising young trombonists on the French scene.

Alongside, he has developed solid skills as an arranger, which he puts to use within the orchestra.
Prokhor Burlak
Tenor & soprano sax
A saxophonist born in Vladivostok and trained in Saint Petersburg, Prokhor played in leading Russian jazz orchestras before settling in France, where he has become one of the major names on tenor and soprano saxophone.
Pepijn Mouwen
Alto sax & clarinet
An alto saxophonist and clarinettist, Pepijn is the youngest musician in the band — but far from the least gifted. A virtuoso multi-instrumentalist, he also works as an arranger within the orchestra.
Philippe Lambrechts
Saxophone & clarinet
A clarinettist and saxophonist from the south of France, Philippe trained in jazz in all its forms between Berlin and Paris. He is also renowned for his talents as a whistler.
Mathieu Meyer
Piano
A Paris pianist trained at the conservatory and by the legendary Barry Harris, Mathieu is a virtuoso who explores many styles. He performs internationally alongside major names of the traditional jazz scene.
Garry Nayah
Guitar, banjo, violin & vocals
Having started his musical training on the violin, Garry discovered swing through the music of Django Reinhardt and his lyrical, virtuoso guitar. A multi-instrumentalist, he found his calling in accompaniment and devotes himself to it with unwavering dedication.
Pablo Burchard
Double bass
First a classical cellist, Pablo went on to become a jazz double bassist. He draws heavily on the double-bass style born in New Orleans — dynamic and blues-tinged — and is one of the world's foremost specialists of the 'slapped' double bass.
Pascal Mucci
Drums
Born to a musician father, Pascal trained at the Music Academy International in Nancy. Passionate about African-American music, he tours the world's stages in both small and large ensembles. He explores many styles but has established himself above all as a specialist of traditional jazz drumming.
The repertoire

Tailor-made, no compromise

Between the French chanson of the Roaring Twenties and the American jazz of its golden age, the orchestra brings together both shores of a single era. Timeless standards and rarities unearthed by the Serpentine Orchestra.