Willem Hendrikse was born on the Dutch Caribbean island of Curaçao in the mid fifties. There he went to school and learned to play the piano and guitar. On the island both Papiamento and Dutch are widely spoken and also used in songs. The combination of Latin music with Dutch lyrics therefore, is not as strange as it sounds. On the contrary, it really works! After finishing High School Willem lived in Eindhoven (The Netherlands) for two years. Returning to Curaçao he studied to be a teacher in elementary school and at the same time took classes in classical and jazz guitar with Mr. Henk Kowsoleea. These classes became a major influence in his future playing style. During this time he played in hotels and bars around the island and organized live sessions with local as well as visiting rock and jazz musicians. He met the singer songwriter Marcel Philippi, with whom he started to write and perform songs with a strong folk and country and weste...