Lucas van Merwijk

Lucas van Merwijk (born 1961) is a Dutch drummer, bandleader, and professor who has made contributions to the European jazz, Latin music, and drums-percussion scene since the early eighties. He has received numerous awards, including being named[1] 'Best Jazz Drummer' and 'Best Fusion Drummer' in the Benelux countries by the readers of the magazine De Slagwerkkrant between 1993 and 2020.

Van Merwijk is currently a professor of drums at the[2] Jazz Department of the Conservatory of Amsterdam and a professor of drums and Latin percussion at the World Music Department of Codarts in the Netherlands. He is also a teacher and clinician at[3] 9Beats in Tianjin, Beijing, China.

Van Merwijk is also a founder, leader, conductor, arranger, and musical director of various music groups, the founder and leader of the international percussion group Drums United, Van Merwijks Music Machine and the Cubop City Big Band in the Netherlands, and a co-director of Tam Tam Productions in Amsterdam.

Van Merwijk is an expert in Latin drums[4] and has established himself as a highly versatile musician, composer, and arranger. He has collaborated with a wide range of artists and ensembles, including the Metropole Orchestra, Jessye Norman, Vince Mendoza, Chris Hinze,[5]Manou Gallo and[6]Andy Gonzalez, as well as having performed internationally including in Europe, the USA, Canada and India.[4][7][8]

In 2010 Van Merwijk won the Global Act Award 2010, for remaining continuously successful as a leading international Artist in world music, over a long period of time.[9]

In 2013 he published his drum book World Beat,[10] World Rhythms for Drum Set, followed by Advanced Coordination Studies (2017).