Rik Jasker is a guitarist, composer and educator from the Netherlands who actively works on making jazz music more approachable through simple but strong melodies and harmonies.
Growing up Rik Jasker (1999) has always been passionate about approaching music through improvisation. This idea quickly took off when he joined the jazz academy in his hometown of ’s-Hertogenbosch (NL). At the same time he joined local pop bands and started getting involved in composing pop songs.
During his studies at the HKU conservatory of Utrecht Rik didn’t solely focus on improvised music. He found a musical connection with singer Laura de Bruijn and they ended up starting the Dutch poetic pop group LOE.. The band has greatly inspired him to further develop his songwriting skills and it shaped him into a musician with a pop and jazz perspective on the art of writing music.
Writing with his newly found perspectives has been the basis of the contemporary jazz he started composing in 2021. While taking inspiration from performers such as Julian Lage, Bill Frisell and Gilad Hekselman, he was also greatly influenced by his mentor Tim Langendijk. Rik is currently working towards recording his compositions in the studio. This project named A Simplified Story will be released in 2025.
In addition to his own projects, Rik plays as a sideman in several pop projects based in Utrecht. He performed with the 2024 Jong Metropole summer project led by Jacomo Bairos (Latin/Samba) and the autumn project led by Simon Dobson (soul).
When Rik is not playing guitar, he runs his own guitar repair and restoration workshop. He loves working with wood and electronics, and he enjoys being part of the guitar community by giving back and helping others. Lastly, as a guitar teacher, he has several students in Utrecht and at the music school MDM Vught.