Since he has won the first prize in the Dutch Jazz Vocal Competition, things have been going well for singer Wouter Hamel. For the first time a male vocalist won the prestigious prize and that resulted in a lot of exposure for the young singer. Hamel started out in rock bands. But it was not until his study at the Conservatory of Utrecht that Hamel came into contact with jazz and swing. 'Vocalese' put a spell on him, a vocal style perfected by the old singer Jon Hendricks, in which one imitates historical instrumental jazz solos. For two years Hamel has sung in the a cappella group Intermezzo, now he has his own group and he sings in the big band the Young Sinatras. Currently he's working on his first CD that hopefully will be released soon. Until then we'll have to settle for his spectacular debut at North Sea Jazz!
