Wim de Vries is one of the most considerable Dutch drummers of his generation. His passion for the drums developed early in his childhood when he played snare drum in a marching band. With just 16, de Vries decided to pursue his talent professionally and began his studies at the Artez Conservatorium Arnhem. During this time, he founded the Marcus Schinkel together with pianist Marcus Schinkel and bassist Bas Rietmeijer. They would go on to record several albums together. At the same time, he played in the Arnhem Jazz Trio and earned valuable ensemble experience.

His musical education later led him to Berklee College of Music in Boston. This time influenced his artistic profile a lot and broadened his jazz-theoretical foundations. After university, de Vries played with different ensembles and toured, for example in Europe, with the well-known Glenn Miller Orchestra.

In 2000, he founded the duo The Drumbassadors together with Dutch drummer René Creemers. This project connected spectacular technical virtuosity with creative percussion performance and led both drummers to stages and festivals in Europe, North America, Iran and Australia. The Drumbassadors did not appear only in concert, but gave drum clinics and workshops worldwide, where they presented their instrumental abilities and musical ideas.

­Characteristic for Wim de Vries’ playing are his technical control, musical sensibility and his focus on rhythmic colours as well as visual elements such as stick twirling. Today, he is active as a performer, studio musician and pedagogue with a career that spans from jazz over theatre productions to international drum festivals.