Born in 1995 in Genk, Belgium, Gert-Jan Dreessen has quickly become one of the most exciting jazz drummers of his generation.

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After studies in Leuven, Cologne and Antwerp, he moved to New York to continue his education at The New School for Jazz, supported by grants from BAEF, MERIT and the Flemish Government. There, he studied with artists such as Kendrick Scott, Reggie Workman and Buster Williams.

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Dreessen is known for his sharp musical intuition and wide sound palette, and has performed internationally with musicians including Bert Joris, Logan Richardson, John O’Gallagher, Shai Maestro and Nduduzo Makhathini. He is a regular member of ensembles such as Flat Earth Society Orchestra, Jeroen Reggers, and the Tomer Cohen Quartet.

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With his beloved Quartet — featuring Bram De Looze (piano), Jean-Paul Estiévenart (trumpet) and Cyrille Obermüller (bass) — he focuses on original compositions that balance structure and freedom. His project Dimensions expands this language by bridging jazz quintet and string quartet.

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In 2024, he was selected by VRT/Klara as one of De Twintigers, recognizing emerging artists with a distinct voice. As part of the program, his quartet recorded a live session in the legendary Toots Studio.

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In 2025, Dreessen released his debut album Angle of Incidence, which was met with strong international response and extensive airplay across Europe, the United States, Japan and South America. The album was selected by Focus Knack as one of the Top 10 Jazz Albums of 2025, confirming his voice as a composer and bandleader.

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“Intelligent, layered and irresistibly beautiful.”​

— Focus Knack (BE) (Top 10 Jazzalbums 2025)​​​

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His work has received wide recognition. Flagey and Jazzlab described him as “a young drummer that has established himself as an artist to be reckoned with”, while The New York City Jazz Record selected his concert at Lincoln Center with Flat Earth Society as one of the best New York performances of 2024.

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Alongside his performing career, Dreessen is active in education and curatorship. Between 2021 and 2024, he taught jazz as a guest professor at LUCA School of Arts in Leuven. In recent years, he has also been curating a concert series at CC De Bogaard in Sint-Truiden.

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He has toured extensively throughout the US, Canada, Europe, South Africa and Mexico. While working increasingly on an international level, his artistic practice remains closely connected to the Belgian jazz scene.

“In an astonishingly short amount of time, this young drummer has established himself as an artist to be reckoned with”

                                                              — Flagey, JazzLab