Jasper van 't Hof is a Dutch

Dutch people

The Dutch people are an ethnic group native to the Netherlands. They share a common culture and speak the Dutch language. Dutch people and their descendants are found in migrant communities worldwide, notably in Suriname, Chile, Brazil, Canada, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand, and the United...

 jazz

Jazz

Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...

 pianist

Pianist

A pianist is a musician who plays the piano. A professional pianist can perform solo pieces, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers, solo instrumentalists, or other performers.-Choice of genres:...

 and keyboard-player.

Van 't Hof was born in Enschede

Enschede

Enschede , also known as Eanske in the local dialect of Twents, is a municipality and a city in the eastern Netherlands in the province of Overijssel and in the Twente region...

, Overijssel

Overijssel

Overijssel is a province of the Netherlands in the central eastern part of the country. The region has a NUTS classification of NL21. The province's name means "Lands across river IJssel". The capital city of Overijssel is Zwolle and the largest city is Enschede...

, Netherlands

Netherlands

The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...

, and began studying piano

Piano

The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...

 at the age of five. He was playing in jazz bands in school, and by the age of 19 was playing at jazz festivals with drummer

Drummer

A drummer is a musician who is capable of playing drums, which includes but is not limited to a drum kit and accessory based hardware which includes an assortment of pedals and standing support mechanisms, marching percussion and/or any musical instrument that is struck within the context of a...

 Pierre Courbois

Pierre Courbois

Sir Pierre Courbois is a Dutch jazz-drummer, bandleader and composer.After studying percussion at the Hogeschool der Kunsten in Arnhem, Courbois left for Paris, the center of Jazz in Europe in the early 1960s...

. In 1969, he became member of Courbois' early European

Europe

Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

 jazz rock group Association P.C. (together with German

Germans

The Germans are a Germanic ethnic group native to Central Europe. The English term Germans has referred to the German-speaking population of the Holy Roman Empire since the Late Middle Ages....

 guitarist

Guitarist

A guitarist is a musician who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselves on the guitar while singing.- Versatility :The guitarist controls an extremely...

 Toto Blanke.) In the project Piano Conclave he played with such piano giants as George Gruntz

George Gruntz

George Gruntz is a Swiss jazz pianist, organist, harpsichordist, keyboardist and composer most noteworthy for his work with artists such as Phil Woods, Roland Kirk, Don Cherry, Chet Baker, Art Farmer, Dexter Gordon, Johnny Griffin and Mel Lewis.From 1972 to 1994 he served as artistic director for...

, Joachim Kühn

Joachim Kühn

-Biography:Kühn was a musical prodigy and made his debut as a concert pianist, having studied classical piano and composition with Arthur Schmidt-Elsey. Influenced by his elder brother, clarinetist Rolf Kühn, he simultaneously got interested in jazz. In 1961 he became a professional jazz musician....

, Wolfgang Dauner

Wolfgang Dauner

Wolfgang Dauner is a German jazz fusion pianist, composer and keyboardist born in Stuttgart, Germany, probably best known for his work in the United Jazz and Rock Ensemble and with musicians such as Hans Koller, Albert Mangelsdorff, Volker Kriegel or Ack van Rooyen...

 and Keith Jarrett

Keith Jarrett

Keith Jarrett is an American pianist and composer who performs both jazz and classical music.Jarrett started his career with Art Blakey, moving on to play with Charles Lloyd and Miles Davis. Since the early 1970s he has enjoyed a great deal of success in jazz, jazz fusion, and classical music; as...

.

In 1974, he founded Pork Pie and teamed up with Philip Catherine

Philip Catherine

Philip Catherine is a Belgian jazz guitarist.-Biography:He was born in London from an English mother and Belgian father....

 (guitar

Guitar

The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...

,) Charlie Mariano

Charlie Mariano

Carmine Ugo Mariano was an American jazz alto saxophonist. He was born in Boston, Massachusetts and died in Cologne, Germany.-Biography:Mariano was the son of Italian immigrants....

 (saxophone

Saxophone

The saxophone is a conical-bore transposing musical instrument that is a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented by the Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax in 1846...

,) Aldo Romano

Aldo Romano

Aldo Romano is a jazz drummer. He also started a rock group in 1971.-Biography:He moved to France as a child and by the 1950s he was playing guitar and drums professionally in Paris, but his career gained notice when he started working with Don Cherry in 1963. He recorded with Steve Lacy and...

 (drums,) and Jean-François Jenny Clark (bass.) Other bands that he contributed to soon followed, including Eyeball which included saxophonist Bob Malach and the late violin

Violin

The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....

ist Zbigniew Seifert

Zbigniew Seifert

Zbigniew Seifert was a Polish jazz violinist.Seifert was born in Kraków, Poland in 1946. He played alto saxophone early in his career and was strongly influenced by John Coltrane...

. He had two bands; Face To Face which is composed of the Danish bassist Bo Stief

Bo Stief

Bo Stief is a Danish jazz and rock bassist, composer, and arranger born in Copenhagen.He has worked or recorded with Don Cherry, Miles Davis, Stan Getz, Dizzy Gillespie, Dexter Gordon, Johnny Griffin, Jackie McLean, George Russell, Kenny Drew and Ben Webster, among many other prominent jazz...

 and the saxophonist Ernie Watts

Ernie Watts

Ernest James "Ernie" Watts is an American jazz and rhythm and blues musician. He plays saxophone and flute. He might be best known for his work with Charlie Haden's Quartet West and his Grammy Awards as an instrumentalist...

 and his crossover combo Pili Pili featuring, among others, African

African people

African people refers to natives, inhabitants, or citizen of Africa and to people of African descent.-Etymology:Many etymological hypotheses that have been postulated for the ancient name "Africa":...

 singer Angelique Kidjo

Angélique Kidjo

Angélique Kpasseloko Hinto Hounsinou Kandjo Manta Zogbin Kidjo, commonly known as Angélique Kidjo is a Grammy Award–winning Beninoise singer-songwriter and activist, noted for her diverse musical influences and creative music videos. Time Magazine has called her "Africa's premier diva". The BBC has...

.

Van't Hof is one of the most active jazz musicians on the European scene. During the course of his career, he has been at the keyboard

Keyboard instrument

A keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...

 for Archie Shepp

Archie Shepp

Archie Shepp is a prominent African-American jazz saxophonist. Shepp is best known for his passionately Afrocentric music of the late 1960s, which focused on highlighting the injustices faced by the African-Americans, as well as for his work with the New York Contemporary Five, Horace Parlan, and...

 and many others, although he is best known for his exceptional solo piano playing.

John Kelman, Allaboutjazz

All About Jazz

All About Jazz is a leading jazz music website for enthusiasts and industry professionals based in Philadelphia in the United States.Founded by Michael Ricci in 1995, the Web-Site is maintained by a volunteer staff of writers, editors, and musicians, and provides coverage of all genres of jazz from...

 critique, in his review of Transitory said:

"Transitorys high point is the two-part title track. Orchestral in scope despite limited instrumentation, Van't Hof's strength as a textural player, comfortably blending impressionistic writing with freer concerns, is in full force."

Discography

• 1971 Sun Rotation – Association P.C.
• 1976 The Door Is Open – Pork Pie
• 1983 Balloons — Jasper van 't Hof, Joachim Kühn
  Joachim Kühn
  -Biography:Kühn was a musical prodigy and made his debut as a concert pianist, having studied classical piano and composition with Arthur Schmidt-Elsey. Influenced by his elder brother, clarinetist Rolf Kühn, he simultaneously got interested in jazz. In 1961 he became a professional jazz musician....
  
  
• 1984 Pili Pili
• 1987 Jakko – Pili Pili
• 1989 Be In Two Minds – Pili Pili
• 1990 Hotel Babo – Pili Pili
• 1992 Stolen Moments – Pili Pili
• 2001 Brutto Tempo – Jasper van't Hof, Charlie Mariano
  Charlie Mariano
  Carmine Ugo Mariano was an American jazz alto saxophonist. He was born in Boston, Massachusetts and died in Cologne, Germany.-Biography:Mariano was the son of Italian immigrants....
  
  , Steve Swallow
  Steve Swallow
  Steve Swallow is a jazz double bass and bass guitarist and composer born in Fair Lawn, New Jersey.One of the leading bassists in jazz, Swallow is noted for collaborations with Jimmy Giuffre, Gary Burton and Carla Bley...
  
  
• 2003 Axioma, Piano Solo
• 2005 Neverneverland – Hotlips
• 2008 Transitory Jasper van't Hof's Pork Pie with Charlie Mariano, Philip Catherine
  Philip Catherine
  Philip Catherine is a Belgian jazz guitarist.-Biography:He was born in London from an English mother and Belgian father....
  
   and Aldo Romano
  Aldo Romano
  Aldo Romano is a jazz drummer. He also started a rock group in 1971.-Biography:He moved to France as a child and by the 1950s he was playing guitar and drums professionally in Paris, but his career gained notice when he started working with Don Cherry in 1963. He recorded with Steve Lacy and...
  
  

External links

• http://www.jaspervanthof.com/ Official website
• [ Jasper Van't Hof Biography at Allmusic]