About Iwan…

UK based trumpeter, keyboardist, musical director, composer / songwriter and producer Iwan VanHetten has worked with artists including Sister Sledge, Candy Dulfer, Paco Sery, The Pointer Sisters, Anthony Hamilton, Jools Holland, Jimmy Haslip, Will Kennedy, Russell Ferrante. He is one of a rare breed of musicians who have stellar capabilities on two or more instruments. Highlights of Iwan’s career include fifteen years as musical director / keyboards with Sister Sledge and over twenty years as musical director / keyboards / trumpet / songwriter / producer with the Brooklyn Funk Essentials. With both groups Iwan has toured worldwide, performing at countless prestigious festivals and clubs. Together with Rob Harris and Paul Turner (Jamiroquai), Iwan completes the new trio ‘TRIONIQ’. Iwan is also an active bandleader and solo artist, writing, recording and producing his own solo albums. His latest album as a bandleader ‘Parabbean Tales’ has got great reviews. Iwan’s production credits include Joni Sledge’s album ‘Tru’.

Iwan has directed and composed music for numerous theatre shows and is currently the musical director and composer for a series of immersive art installations around Europe. He is a passionate educator and holds a position as lecturer at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire. He divides his time between producing, teaching and live performances around the world.

Iwan holds artist endorsements with Nord Keyboards, Taylor Trumpets and Torpedo bags.

Parabbean Tales (official video)

Parabbean Tales EPK (Behind The Scenes)

Just A Thought - Official Video

TRIONIQ - Difficult (Live)

TRIONIQ - Peanut Cookies (Live)

TRIONIQ - I Could Be The One For You (Live)

TRIONIQ - Can You Feel What’s Going On (Live)

 Watch more videos

Parabbean Tales

Iwan’s latest album ‘Parabbean Tales’ was born from the concept of combining Caribbean-influenced music with contemporary jazz and funk to weave a narrative of his childhood and express the love for his native music.

On his latest offering, Iwan brings together a group of Grammy Award winning musicians:

Iwan VanHetten - Trumpet, Keyboards

Will Kennedy - Drums

Russel Ferrante - Keyboards / Piano

Jimmy Haslip - Bass

Melvin Lee Davis - Bass

Lenny Castro - Percussion

Andy Narell - Steel Pans

Bob Mintzer - Saxophone

Parabbean Tales will be released on Blue Canoe Records USA on 4th February 2022.

TRIONIQ

TRIONIQ is the brainchild of Iwan VanHetten (Brooklyn Funk Essentials, Sister Sledge) Rob Harris (Jamiroquai, Sister Sledge, Beverly Knight) and Paul Turner (Jamiroquai, Sister Sledge, Brother Strut). These three seasoned artists, songwriters, producers and touring musicians have gathered numerous accolades throughout their individual careers and have now joined forces in this exciting band. Bringing together together jazz, funk and a shared love of soulful songwriting, TRIONIQ have released the EP’s ‘1’, ‘Deux’ and the album ‘One, Deux, Trés’ and numerous singles, available on all streaming platforms.

Check out the videos below to see these amazing musicians in action!

Recording Studio

Iwan’s fully equipped state of the art recording studio VanHetten Productions is home to his composition, production, mixing and artist collaboration work. It features an SSL E/G Analog inline desk, the latest version of ProTools, a huge array of plugins, outboard analog equipment, tape machines, an extensive stack of hardware keyboards from Fender Rhodes to Nordstage and Hammond Organ and an impressive collection of microphones, preamps, guitars and drums.

Iwan’s own label VanHetten Records allows him to express his creativity, releasing original material without boundaries.

Iwan is available to hire for mixing, producing, songwriting, scoring to picture, and remote recordings.

MASTERCLASSES/coaching

Besides touring and studio work, Iwan is a passionate educator with a strong desire to pass on his knowledge. With twenty-five years of university teaching experience Iwan has held teaching positions at BIMM, InHolland Conservatory (Amsterdam) ACM, and currently holds a position as a Lecturer in Jazz and Lecturer in Music Production at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire.

Iwan is available for coaching sessions, workshops, masterclasses and private lessons in person and online. His areas of expertise include bandleadership, musical directing, songwriting, composing, music theory, professional musicianship, improvisation, production and mixing.
Iwan’s straightforward, no-nonsense style of teaching has proven to be an effective and rewarding experience for many of his students.

To book a session with Iwan click here

 Reviews & Press