About

As a child I grew up with my Moluccan parents in Delft (between The Hague and Rotterdam). My first music influences were the sounds of Kiss and The Police and I eventually ended up with my father’s jazz records, such as So Much Guitar by my very first jazz guitar hero Wes Montgomery and The Poll Winners by alto saxophonist Cannonball Adderley.

From the age of 12, my enthusiasm for jazz was considerably expanded at the music school in Delft by my guitar teacher Hans Voogt who encouraged and actually saved me by convincing my parents that I was already very talented. Thanks to him, my parents gave me the green light to study at the conservatory.

It’s nice to realize that I had an immediate head start both at the music school in Delft and at the Rotterdam Conservatory. Martijn van Agt, my fellow guitar student in Rotterdam, said years later that I could already play ‘everything’ at the academy. Quite funny to hear, because I really blossomed at that time. I felt free there and my boundaries were pushed to excel.

After graduation, I became a sought-after guitarist in jazz, Brazilian music, Moluccan cross-over, latin jazz and neo-soul. Over the years I had developed into a specialist in accompanying vocalists, also because of ‘comping’ singing classes at the conservatory for many years.

I have worked and recorded with Lilian Vieira, Denise Jannah, Laura Fygi, Benjamin Herman, Bert van den Brink, Anne Chris, Eva Kieboom, Oene van Geel, Harvey Mason, Tony Monaco, Udo Demandt, Arturo Ramon and Zuco 103.

As a teacher, I gave lessons for 18 years at Codarts (main subject latin guitar and jazz harmony) in Rotterdam and I still teach Brazilian ensemble class at the jazz department of the Conservatory of Amsterdam.

Photo Tom Beek