Born in 1962, Benoit Vanderstraeten started to play pop and rock on bass when he was only 16. After listening to Jaco Pastorius at age 19, he started to learn jazz and quickly started 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 serious problem with his right hand. He returned to Belgium and developed his unique right hand technique with a pick. During five years he played in Belgium then went to Paris In 1993, he was engaged by Didier Lockwood for a three-year tour. In this time he played with musicians such as John Scofield, Scott Hendersen, Michel Petrucciani, Ralph Umfrey etc.. Benoit is now considered as one of the finest electric bass jazz improvisers in Europe.
