Bart Brandjes, the youngest from a family of 11 siblings, was born on July 26th in Uitgeest, the Netherlands, a small picturesque village in the province of North Holland. Music and fine arts occupy the center stage within the Brandjes household. Bart’s father, who recently passed away, was an interior architect and painter. Bart’s brother Michel is a renowned piano tuner, servicing leading classical pianists such as Maria Joąo Pires, Alfred Brendel and many more, where brother Kees followed into his father’s architectural footsteps. Several of Bart’s sisters paint and sculpture. Entrepreneurial blood also runs abundantly in Bart’s family.

Already at a young age, Bart is fascinated by music, especially drums. Art Blakey is his hero and role model. He decides he wants to do the same. This dream approaches reality when the Dutch Swing College Band performs in his hometown and Bart purchases his first drum kit from their drummer, percussio...