Jan Wouter Oostenrijk, born on March 31, 1965, in Groningen, Netherlands, is a Dutch guitarist known for blending oriental dance, blues, Arab-Andalusian music, and jazz. He moved to Amsterdam at age 22 to study guitar at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam, graduating in 1994. Oostenrijk gained recognition with the Moroccan-influenced band Raï-land, earning the Gouden Notenkraker Award in 1996. He released his debut album Open Up Your Eyes in 2000, which included the track "My Friend Samir," reaching Number 1 on the North African Top 40 chart on Ethnocloud. His 2006 album Maghreb Jazz Guitar received a RadioIndy Golden Artist Award for Best Emerging Music in the United States. Oostenrijk has toured extensively across Europe and North Africa, performing with artists such as Majid Bekkas, Cheb Khaled, and Joe Zawinul. He also founded Gitaarschool Amsterdam and co-founded Gitaarschool Nederland, a platform supporting Dutch guitar education.
