Jesse van Ruller is known to be one of the best contemporary jazz guitarists on the scene today. His unique sound, virtuoso technique and beautiful compositions are praised around the globe.

In 1995 he won the prestigious Thelonious Monk Award in Washington . The jury, consisting of Pat Metheny, John Scofield, Jim Hall, Pat Martino and Mark Whitfield, was of the opinion that Jesse is one of the most promising talents of his time.

In the same year he graduated summa cum laude from the Hilversum Conservatory, where he studied with Wim Overgaauw. Since then he has performed with numerous renowned musicians and ensembles such as Pat Metheny, George Duke, Joe Lovano, Peter Erskine, Mike Stern, Tom Harrell, Philip Catherine, Toots Thielemans, the Roy Hargrove Quintet, Christian McBride, Seamus Blake, Metro pole Orchestra, Asko Ensemble, WDR Big Band, Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and the Berliner Philharmoniker.

He was nominated for the Dutch Bird and Edison Awards several times and to date has released nine albums as a leader.

Jesse leads his own trio in which he continues to display his impressive talents as a jazz guitarist as well as a composer. In this classic guitar-bass-drums setting he unerringly combines all chords and melodies on his semi-acoustic jazz guitar; tradition, expertise and innovation un-insistently go hand in hand.

He co-leads the project "Muzyka" with vocalist Francien van Tuinen. This project is inspired by the poem of Boris Pasternak, in which the Russian 19 th -century poet blends music with poetry. Jesse re-arranged non-vocal compositions of Skriabin, Schubert, Satie, Ravel en Shostakovich into contemporary pieces to which Francien wrote beautiful and touching lyrics. Surprising arrangements with exciting grooves and uncommon beats, written for vocals, string and percussion instruments resulted in a beautiful fusion of jazz, folk, flamenco, fado and tango.

For the 2006-2007 season Jesse has developed a new program together with cellist Ernst Reijseger and flameco guitarist Eric Vaarzon Morel. The two guitarists have a completely different background but have a special interest in each others music. Cellist Ernst Reijseger is a musical omnivore; he doesn't hesitate to use his cello as a guitar or a percussion instrument. The three virtuoso players challenge each other and play beyond category in this exciting string-program of original compositions and improvisations.

Jesse is also a member of the Jazz Orchestra of the Concertgebouw and plays in duo's with guitarist Maarten van der Grinten and pianist Bert van den Brink. As a sideman he regularly plays in the bands of saxophonist Benjamin Herman and pianist Michiel Borstlap .