{"id":196304,"date":"2026-02-23T16:52:38","date_gmt":"2026-02-23T15:52:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/?p=196304"},"modified":"2026-02-23T16:56:13","modified_gmt":"2026-02-23T15:56:13","slug":"medical-student-daan-kluwer-wins-10-000-euros-to-record-his-own-jazz-album","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/2026\/02\/23\/medical-student-daan-kluwer-wins-10-000-euros-to-record-his-own-jazz-album\/","title":{"rendered":"Medical student Daan Kluwer wins 10,000 euros to record his own jazz album"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Saxophonist and medical student Daan Kluwer won the music competition Keep an Eye The Records in January. With the prize money of 10,000 euros, he will record a new album. His debut album is released this week and, in the meantime, he is also completing a master\u2019s degree in Medicine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Daan
Saxophonist and medical student Daan Kluwer stands with his saxophone in a lecture hall in Erasmus MC.

\n\t\n\n<\/svg>\n<\/span>\n\tImage by:<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tDaan Stam<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

When medical student Daan Kluwer is on stage and really in the zone, it is as if he is detached from the world. \u201cAt such a moment, you switch off your thoughts a little. You immerse yourself in the music and instinctively respond to what is happening around you.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThat is the ultimate feeling I am always searching for\u201d, Kluwer says. \u201cEntering that trance-like state in which thoughts do not keep racing through your mind. You are not thinking about what people think of you, or whether it sounds good. You are simply playing in the moment.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He experienced that same feeling in January when he performed his music with his band before a jury at TivoliVredenburg in Utrecht. He had reached the final of the music competition Keep an Eye The Records, which aims to encourage young jazz musicians. He was one of three winners, selected from one hundred and forty entries. With the prize money, 10,000 euros, he will enter the studio this year to record his second album.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Music and medicine<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Although winning the competition is an important step in Kluwer\u2019s musical career, it is not the only thing that occupies his daily life. Kluwer completed his bachelor\u2019s degree in Medicine and is currently working on his master’s in the same field.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After obtaining his bachelor\u2019s degree in 2019, Kluwer enrolled at Codarts Rotterdam, where he studied jazz at the conservatoire. He graduated cum laude in 2023, after which he decided to continue in medicine after all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, his music will never completely fade into the background. \u201cOf course I have to make choices\u201d, Kluwer explains. \u201cFor example, I am now more selective about the performances I accept. I cannot do everything I might once have done, simply because there is no longer enough time. After all, it is not my intention to complete my degree half-heartedly.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

An honour<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

It was not the first time the saxophonist had taken part in The Records, but it was the first time he had won.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cJust being there is already an honour\u201d, Kluwer says, \u201cbut it is an even greater honour if you are invited to perform a second time.\u201d The Records is regarded as a prestigious competition<\/a> within the jazz world, one that can help winning bands move forward in their careers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to Kluwer, he approached it fairly relaxed. \u201cI thought: let\u2019s just enjoy playing together as a band. You have your music, your band, your sound, and then it is up to the jury to decide what they think of it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Daan
Kluwer\u2019s record will be released under his own name.

\n\t\n\n<\/svg>\n<\/span>\n\tImage by:<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tDaan Stam<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Irreplaceable<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Thanks to the prize money, Kluwer and his band, which bears his name, will return to the studio this year to record an album. Return, because his first album is released on February 27th. He had already been working on it before signing up for The Records. He financed this album partly with subsidies and partly with his own money.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The album is released under his own name, as is often the case in the jazz world. Kluwer says: \u201cIt may be my name and I wrote the music, but we truly are a band. The music sounds the way it does because of the people in it, and they cannot simply be replaced by someone else.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In addition to Kluwer on saxophone, his band consists of a guitarist, a double bassist, a drummer and a musician who plays piano and synthesiser.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Life of Billy<\/em><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

He drew inspiration for his debut album from Slaughterhouse-Five<\/em>, a 1969 novel by the American author Kurt Vonnegut. Kluwer describes himself as a real sci-fi enthusiast and says he is particularly inspired creatively by books. \u201cWhen I read\u201d, he says, \u201cI think about what the story, or a specific character, would sound like if it were a song.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Slaughterhouse-Five<\/em> is about a man named Billy who becomes unstuck in time and relives his life in a non-chronological order. The sci-fi elements from the book can be heard in Kluwer\u2019s somewhat electronic take on jazz music. And, he explains: \u201cBecause this book was the first seed from which my album grew, I named it The Life of Billy<\/em> as a tribute.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His favourite track on the album is Lost in Transmission<\/em>, a ballad. Kluwer describes the song as follows: \u201cThe large atmospheric soundscape that slowly develops, with an almost hip-hop-like, very minimalist drum groove underneath.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Switching gears<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Kluwer is already thinking about his next album. \u201cBut because we only recently won The Records, and because our first record has not even been released yet, we need a moment to switch gears\u201d, he says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He does not yet fully know which direction he wants to take. \u201cTo what extent do I want to continue in the same direction as our first record? And to what extent do I want to do something different or something new? That is what I am very much focused on at the moment.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\t

\n\t\t
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n

On February 28th, Kluwer will present his album at Roodkapje<\/a> in Rotterdam. The Life of Billy<\/em> can be purchased via Bandcamp<\/a> and, from the release date, streamed on Spotify.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n\n\t<\/div>\n\n\n\n\t
\n\t\t\n\t\t
\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

Read more<\/h2>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t