Joost Lijbaart (Amsterdam 1967) started playing drums at the age of 7, following his father Piet Lijbaart (Amsterdam 1933-1970).

He graduated in 1991 with honors from the Hilversum Conservatory where he followed classes with Cees Kranenburg, Marcel Serierse Ali Un D’Aye Rose and Victor Oskam.

With the Yuri Honing Trio in 1996, he made the album ‘Star Tracks’ from (a modern adaptation of European pop classics).

In the 20 year history of the trio the group released 5 CDs and performed on numerous tours in more than 90 countries. There were musical collaborations with musicians from the Middle East, India and China.

Besides working as a sideman Lijbaart focused also on his own projects, such as his own quartet ‘Group of Friends’, his duo with pianist Wolfert Brederode, the group Batik and his recently formed improvisation trio with vocalist Sanne Rambags and guitar player Bram Stadhouders.

At the North Sea Jazz Festival he received in 2003 as a drummer the soloist prize at the Dutch jazz competition given by Elvin Jones.

Joost played over the years regularly classical percussion music of Iannis Xenakis, John Cage and Steve Reich and worked on several projects together with Theo Loevendie and Louis Andriessen. He performed as a soloist with the New Ensemble at the Muziekgebouw in 2016.

He was collaborating with artists from other disciplines such as dancer / choreographer Anouk van Dijk, dancer / choreographer Lonneke of Leth and writer PF Thomese.

Joost Lijbaart is a player with many different interests. He has years of experience in the history of jazz from the 50s and 60s, played a lot of pop and rock and studied musical traditions of West Africa, Northern India and the Middle East.

As an experienced teacher Joost Lijbaart gives regular guest lectures and classes at conservatories around the world.
Since 2016 he is also teaching entrepreneurship at the Conservatory in Amsterdam and the Prins Claus Conservatory in Groningen.

Joost Lijbaart toured in more than 90 countries around the world and performed at many major jazz festivals.

Bram's relentless search for unknown territory and new destinations began in 2007 with his first album Tonelist, followed by 12 other albums (5 releases on Challenge Records). At 18 he was selected for the prestigious Young VIP tour. At the age of 26, he was the youngest composer ever to receive the annual North Sea Jazz Composition Commission. Not long after, he received carte blanche from the BIMhuis, for which he wrote the successful Cantata for tenor voice, guitar and live electronics.

Bram's playing is influenced by (natural) landscapes, visual arts, ambient and global music, always exploring the boundary between improvisation and composition. Trained as a jazz guitarist, he often seeks metamorphosis with electronics and classical music. With each new project he tries to challenge himself again. Bram is part of the trio Under the surface (with singer Sanne Rambags and drummer Joost Lijbaart) and is currently working on three major projects: A collaboration with the enigmatic Berlin neo-classical pianist Lambert. The further development of Orbit, an immersive surround sound experience with 8 Ambisonics speakers and special guests (including Nils Petter Molvaer and Remy van Kesteren at So What's Next? festival). And Suite X: a 9-part work inspired by baroque music in collaboration with the Belgian out-of-the-box thinking baroque ensemble B.O.X.

Apart from Holland's neighboring countries, Bram has performed in Mali, Rwanda, Tanzania, Zanzibar, Mexico, Colombia, Panama, Bolivia, Peru, Tadzjikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Egypt, India, China, South-Korea, North America, Canada, Norway, Poland, Germany, Russia, Israel, Spain, Turkey, Macedonia, Greece, Serbia, Turkey, Slovakia, Slovenia, Hungary, Bulgaria.

He has collaborated with artists like: Onno Govaert, Eric Vloeimans, Jim Black, Sidsel Endresen, Terje Isungset, Arve Henriksen, Wolfert Brederode, Karl Seglem, Thomas Strønen, Grzech Piotrowski, Sainkho Namtchylak, Sinikka Langeland, Per Oddvar Johansen, Ruth Wilhelime Meyer, Mari Kvien Brunvoll, Koenraad Ecker, Gulli Gudmundsson, Skuli Sverisson, Theodossi Spassov, Marcin Wasilewski, Bulgarian choir Angelite, Harmen Fraanje, Jeroen van Vliet, Eric van der Westen, Sanne van Hek, Haytham Safia, Wouter Jaspers, Laïs, Noel Redding (bassist from Jim Hendrix), Nelson Veras, Hein van de Geyn, Matthieu Chazarenc, Staplerfahrer, Spinvis, the Netherlands Chamber Choir, and much more.

“His composition with the barrel organ was not only fascinating, but also sounded wonderful. It attracted a lot of audience.”— Michelle Kuypers, North Sea Jazz Festival “The result is breathtakingly beautiful. Very unique how classical vocals and impro-jazz come together here. **** 4 stars, 23-09-2015. About Henosis.” — Gijsbert Kamer, Volkskrant

“The guitarist claims a unique place in the music world for himself with this project” — Jan Jasper Tamboer, Parool

Under the Surface is a new Dutch band formed by Dutch drummer Joost Lijbaart (known for his work with Yuri Honing), guitarist Bram Stadhouders (known from his work with the Netherlands chamber choir, Jim Black, Sidsel Endersen) and vocalist Sanne Rambags (winner conservatory talent award 2017). The trio met in 2015 as an initiative of the Dutch foundation Beaux Jazz. This foundation offers young talents artistic support. For this first edition of ‘Generation Next’, the young singer Sanne Rambags come up with an adventurous group together with guitarist Bram Stadhouders and drummer Joost Lijbaart. Their debut album was released in March 2017 on the Dutch label Challenge Records and got great reviews. The universal language in their music brought the group to major festivals in Mali, Mexico, China, Norway, India and the Netherlands.