Expect the unexpected. That is the best advice to give someone going to an Available Jelly concert. Through the years, the line-up and the repertoire have changed many times, but there is one thing that you can be sure of: there’ll be strong melodies, fun and beauty.

Available Jelly emerged from the musical branch of the Great Salt Lake Mime Troupe when this American group visited Amsterdam in the mid-seventies. Several members decided to stay, and a number of line-up changes later the group has developed into a constant feature of the Dutch improvised music scene. The current Available Jelly brings together an all-star line-up.

The influences on Available Jelly’s music range from New Orleans jazz via Ellington to contemporary composition techniques, and from ethnic music (worldwide from the Balkan to Madagascar) to popular music, such as Cole Porter, Irving Berlin and the Beach Boys. This may sound like an eclectic hotch potch but it’s nothing of the sort! The Available Jelly people like a good melody wherever it may come from and the original compositions of Michael Moore and Eric Boeren attest to that. The theatrical background of the musicians shows in the feel for drama and absurdist humour that plays a prominent part in the music.

Available Jelly tours extensively throughout Europe and America. The group has recorded four CDs so far; a fifth CD is expected soon. The tradition of a yearly festival organized by Available Jelly goes on under the flag of Stichting dOeK.