A few words about me, Jérôme Cardynaals. I was born on the 15th of May 1996 in the beautiful city of Maastricht, Holland. I’ve been playing drums for as long as I can remember, and before I was a year old, I travelled to New Orleans with my parents.



I come from a musical family. My parents play in several New Orleans bands, so I grew up listening to - and soaking up - New Orleans music.



I have returned to Nola (as the locals call the Crescent City) several times, and whilst there, played with some of my music friends. Lillian Boutté (I call her my Music-Mom), Thomas L’Etienne, Leroy Jones, Rick Trolsen, Craig Klein, Benny Jones, Rob Espino, Shannon Powell, Gerald French, the N O Nightcrawlers, the New Birth Brass Band, the Tréme Brass Band....to name but a few! I just can’t get this town and its people out of my mind, and my ambition is to live and play there.



When I was ‘little’, I attended the Maastricht Music School, but since 2007, receive private tuition in a wide range of drumming styles from German super-drummer Steffen Thormählen.



Since I was 4 years old I’ve been playing with all sorts of bands. I started in 2003 with the Vitzkids, a youth big-band, and with Jazziax, a quartet. In 2009 I became a member of the New Orleans Brassconnection, a funky 8-piece New Orleans street-beat band. The same year, Simon Oslender and I teamed up to form Twogether.



I have played gigs in New Orleans and throughout Europe, including a few numbers on Spitsbergen, Norway, 1000 km from the North Pole. Brrrr!!!!



In 2006 I recorded my first CD ‘’At Home With Jérôme’’, which featured Lillian Boutté, Thomas L’Etienne, and a host of music friends from Holland and Germany. Further releases soon followed.



My principal musical influences are New Orleans drummers such as Shannon Powell, Gerald French, Herlin Riley, Stanton Moore etc. but the playing of Jeff Hamilton, Bernard Purdie, and of course my drum teacher Steffen Thormählen, has also added to the mix.



For the time being I’m still at school, but when I get home each afternoon, the first thing I do is jump behind my fantastic Adams kit. This is my first love. This is where I belong.