At the age of 15, Niels Lan Doky began working with Thad Jones and other big names in jazz. "Some of the most inspirational and influential people in my life have been the many expatriate American jazz artists living in Denmark that I had the fortune to meet as I was growing up. Jazz geniuses such as Thad Jones, Ernie Wilkins, Kenny Drew, Ed Thigpen and many more were living and playing around Copenhagen and had an enormous impact on the local music scene."