'Big band music is timeless'

The seed for his somewhat unusual taste for American swing and big band music was planted in his parents’ car. They were playing the CD Swing When You’re Winning, on which the British pop singer Robbie Williams covers some of the old classics, including My Way and Mr. Bojangles.

‘It was love at first sound,’ says Dennis van Aarssen. Now, at the age of 30, the Dordrecht-born singer is known as the Dutch Frank Sinatra. He’s won two Edisons and performs around the world. He and his big band are kicking off the festive season in TivoliVredenburg with covers of well-known festive songs and tracks from his own Christmas album Christmas When You’re Here.

What appealed to you about this music as a child?
‘It was mainly the stupendous orchestra on stage with Robbie Williams. And the live shots, which showed a well-dressed, dolled-up audience, neatly sitting at tables, listening to him singing. I was spell-bound. And of course, it’s the ultimate swing music! I only realised later that the songs Williams was belting out were actually written by other people, such as Frank Sinatra and Sammy Davis Jr. So I started looking into their music. Sinatra has a magical way of singing; there’s no-one like him. He forces you to listen.’

So if your parents had played Nirvana in the car, you might have developed in an entirely different direction?
‘Yes, I suppose I might!’

Don’t your contemporaries listen to a very different type of music?
‘The data on my social media says otherwise. Some 60% of my followers on TikTok and Instagram are under 27. The mainstream radio stations don’t play it much, but big band music is timeless. The audiences at my gigs are between 14 and 84. And my friends love it – whenever I used to sing New York, New York in a karaoke bar, I lifted the roof. This music doesn’t deserve its old fogey image. Deep down, everyone who hears big band music can’t help but love it.’

Don’t your contemporaries listen to a very different type of music?
I was 24 and had a full-time job as a project manager. I’d taken part, and been unsuccessful, in other talent shows. And I’d been turned down by the Rock Academy. I failed in everything: musicality, timing, creativity. My application to The Voice was my last attempt to make it in the music industry, and apparently, the timing was perfect. As I’d already given up and there was no pressure, I felt relaxed on stage, which is what this music needs. Looking back, I think that was the key to my success.’

And then everything fell into place. You’ve even performed in the US.
‘Yes, it’s unreal. I played Studio 54 in New York, in the middle of Manhattan. In the club where Mick Jagger, Cher and Michael Jackson have performed. And the city where Frank Sinatra had his heyday. It was a dream come true. I sang there for the first time in 2022, and again last year at Christmas. You never know how an American audience is going to react. They could have thought: who’s this young brat playing our music? But they didn’t; I was welcomed with open arms and they’re always asking me to come back.’

So you’ll be in TivoliVredenburg around Christmas. Does this period have a special meaning for you?
‘Yes, I adore it. It’s my favourite time of the year. I always consciously make time for the people I love. My life’s so busy during the rest of the year that I tend to neglect them. To me, Christmas means good food, drinks and catching up with my mates. I might even go along with the old English tradition of roasting a turkey for Christmas dinner, ha-ha. And I’ve made a playlist with all the great Christmas songs. I might even smuggle some of my own songs onto it.

21 December in TivoliVredenburg (tivolivredenburg.nl)