Biography
Jochem Braat is an eclectic and versatile musician. His piano playing reflects the breadth of his artistic influences, ranging from a musical upbringing by his swing-playing father, to his own discovery of singer-songwriters, Brazilian music, film music and the broad and varied canon of the jazz tradition. After studying clarinet for six years his interest turned to the piano and its capacity for self-contained solo performance. He went on to earn a Bachelor’s degree in jazz piano at the Conservatorium of Amsterdam and a Master’s degree with his teacher Bert van den Brink at the conservatory of Utrecht. Jochem finished his studies in 2016 after receiving an extraordinary 9 (A+) for his piano playing. Over the years he has studied with, among others, Danilo Rea, Barry Harris, Jason Lindner and Stefano Bollani.
Jochem’s piano playing encompasses a variety of styles, among them instrumental 30s and post-war jazz, song interpretation, free improv and instant composing, Brazilian popular and traditional music, and of course his own compositions, which are rich, composite constructions, often featuring playful rhythmic experimentation. Some of his own founded musical projects include the half classical, half contemporary jazz ensemble: ‘sQuare’, the traditional jazz trio: ‘the Amsterdam Jazz Trio’, electro-synth-pop project: ‘Luchtman’ and the contemporary pop and jazz band: ‘John Roast Power Fox’.
For Jochem the balance between harmony and melody are key. Perhaps this is why he is such a sought after musician for singers. He performs and writes with (among others) Wouter Hamel, Janne Schra, Lumi and Pepijn de Wit. Another key element that keeps returning within Jochems music is the interdisciplinary aspect. His own project, ‘Luchtman’ , works together with two graphic novel artist that create the outline for the music. He wrote music for dance performances by Chronos collective and also wrote and performed for Asko|Schönberg and Slagwerk Den Haag in multiple theatre and dance performances by NITE (Club Guy & Roni and het Noord Nederlands Toneel).
Since 2018 he’s working with Syrian Ud player Jaber Fayad to create new music in which Arabic music, improvised music and traditional western classical music are combined.
Jochem has performed in clubs, theaters and venues across the globe for big audiences with many renowned musicians. But still you can also catch him playing classic jazz standards on old poorly maintained pianos in the small bars in his home city of Amsterdam.