Willem Breuker

Willem Breuker (4 November 1944 – 23 July 2010) was a Dutch bandleader, composer, arranger, saxophonist, and clarinetist.

Career During the mid-1960s, he played with percussionist Han Bennink and pianist Misha Mengelberg, with which he regularly performed until 1973. He was a member of the Globe Unity Orchestra and the Gunter Hampel Group.

In 1974, he began leading the 10-piece Willem Breuker Kollektief, With the group, he toured Western Europe, Russia, Australia, India, China, Japan, the United States, and Canada. In 1974, he founded the record label BV Haast.

Awards and honors In 1998, Breuker was knighted with the Order of the Netherlands Lion.

In 2017, the Willem Breuker Prijs was awarded for the first time to . A bi-annual prize for contemporary composers, it was last awarded in 2019 to .