Benoît Vanderstraeten started to play pop and rock on bass when he was only 16. After listening to Jaco Pastorius at age 19, he took up studying jazz and before long, he was playing with Belgian musicians such as Steve Houben, Jacques Pelzer and Mimi Verderamme. In 1985 he left for Los Angeles to learn more about improvisation. While there, he suffered a severe right-hand injury that resulted in his signature technique: playing bass with a pick. Since then, he has made a mark on collaborations both nationally and internationally and is now considered one of the finest electric bass jazz improvisers in Europe. On the balcony, he’ll be accompanied by guitarist Jacques Pirotton.