Willem de Beer (The Hague, 1990) started off playing piano at the tender age of 5, but 25 years later he is laser-focused on telling stories with his voice, preferably in a jazzy setting.
In search of his true voice, he touched many different musical genres during his 6 years of music studies, before graduating with a 9 at the Conservatory of Amsterdam. He draws inspiration from the true masters that were able to combine compelling vocals with entertaining, like the Frank Sinatras and Dean Martins of this world. But his passion for 4-part harmony (like Jo Stafford and The Pied Pipers) is equally strong, inspiring him to join forces with 3 of his favorite singing colleagues from Amsterdam, and founding his vocal group "The Deli Cat".
With a special love for changing the lyrics and arranging for his band (ideally accompanied by a string section!) his most important goal is to draw the audience toward him and share the joy of the beautiful melodies and lyrics that The American Songbook gifted us with.
In September 2020 Willem released his very first jazz album titled "XXX" (a reference to, among others, the 3 St. Andrew's crosses of Amsterdam ànd Willem's age in Roman numerals). He and his 12-man band launched the CD with a sold-out (corona-proof...) concert at Diligentia Theatre in The Hague. The 8 beautifully crafted songs will make you sit back and relax with a good glass of wine, but I dare you to not tap your feet or even start dancing in your living room! You can check out the 4 released music videos, and listen to the other 4 songs on Spotify.