Phaedra Kwant plays bass guitar and double bass, is a vocalist, composer, lyricist, producer, music teacher and voice over.

To date, Phaedra has released three albums under her own name: ‘Too Much In Store’ (2009), ‘Still Listening’ (2013) and ‘Hearts And Things’ (2024) [Listen on Spotify]. In December 2020 she released her Dutch single ‘Anders Wordt Het Koud’.  Another Dutch single ‘Ik Hoorde Haar Zingen’ followed in March 2024.

This extraordinary singing bassist’s music is original and versatile: she doesn’t write just in one style, or one language even. Her compositions can be funky, grooving deep and jazzy, but also sensitive, poetic, layered and always surprising.

Since 2023 she tours with energetic jazz/groove band ‘HOTSPOT!’ of bandleader Eric Vloeimans, playing original music from all band members. In 2024 they released a double live album ‘Pinkie Binkie’.

Phaedra studied at the Conservatory of Amsterdam, where she teaches bass guitar nowadays and officially became the first female Master of Music bass guitar in The Netherlands in 2004.

Phaedra also works as a voice over for a variety of different media types such as commercials, audiobooks, films and animation series ‘Ellie de Olifant’ (‘Ellie the Ellie’) of which she also writes all the music and produces the songs in her own studio and has proudly worked as a lyricist for the Dutch Royal Family.

Phaedra is a genuine musical chameleon, she works in the highest regions of the Dutch jazz, pop and theatre scenes, enjoying the diversity of playing all kinds of music.  This multi-talented woman plays as sideman in bands of well-known Dutch artists like Claudia de Breij, Candy Dulfer, Veldhuis & Kemper, Eric Vloeimans, Do, 3Js, Mathilde Santing, Hans Dulfer, Krystl, Frederique Spigt, Hans Vermeulen, Lois Lane, Fay Claassen, Charly Luske, Ellen ten Damme, Mike del Ferro, Chris Beckers, Hans Vandenburg, Leoni Jansen, Izaline Calister and Sjors van der Panne and also with international stars like Debbie Sledge.

She leads her own jazz band and played for 10 years in pop trio ‘McChicks’, which she made two albums with: ‘McChicks’ (2009) and ‘Miles Between Us’ (2018). Both projects received fantastic reviews in numerous papers, magazines and on Dutch radio and television.

Phaedra has performed many times internationally in the United States, Japan, Senegal, India, Great Britain, Greece, Cuba, Germany, Spain, Russia, Thailand, France, Belgium, Italy, Ukraine, Switzerland, Austria, the United Emirates and the Dutch Antilles.  Her jazz trio toured in both Japan and the United States where a  New York-newspaper dubbed her ‘The Dutch Sting’ and ‘Angel from the Netherlands’ after seeing her performance.

In 2016 Phaedra won the poll in magazine ‘De Gitarist’, being ‘The Best Jazz/Fusion bassist of the Benelux.’

Phaedra teaches bass guitar at the jazz department of the Conservatory of Amsterdam and at the ArtEZ Jazz and Pop Conservatory in Arnhem.

Phaedra is endorser of Aguilar Amps, writes for bass guitar magazine ‘De Bassist’ since 2007.