Ekseption was a Dutch progressive rock ensemble from Haarlem, The Netherlands with changing membership, active from 1967 to 1989, growing out of the bands The Jokers and Incrowd. Ekseption was famous during the late sixties/early seventies for the way it combined themes from classical composers with contemporary rock and jazz in a blend of dominating, virtuoso keys and trumpet plus sax(es). The story of Ekseption as we know it begins when they won the first prize at the Loosdrecht Jazz Festival in 1968