Bert van den Brink, at the festival accompanied by vocalist Heleen van den Hombergh, was only five years old when he got his first piano lessons. He completed his education at the Conservatory of Utrecht with honours. At first he mainly gave classical performances, but later on he definitively turned to jazz and performed with giants like Chet Baker, Philip Catherine, Louis van Dijk, John Engels, Toots Thielemans and many others. For some years Van Den Brink was the accompanist of jazz vocalists Dee Dee Bridgewater and Denise Jannah. Moreover the pianist collaborated with classic vocalist Miranda van Kralingen. The Metropole Orchestra, Paul de Leeuw, Denise Jannah and others have performed adaptations by Van Den Brink. For his Jazz at the Pinehill solo-CD he chose ten well-known Dutch songs and completely adjusted them with a personal touch. You have never heard Margootje by Sonneveld like this before. The CD-series Jazz at the Pinehil contains solo recordings by ten famous Dutch pianists. Six of them, Jan Huydts, Karel Boehlee, Rob Madna, Frans Elsen, Rob van Bavel and Bert van den Brink, will be performing at the festival Escher Hall. Small private sessions in an old basement, turned into a studio, in Leersum were the inspiration for Jazz at the Pinehill. A select audience enjoyed the memorable performances in an intimate environment. For some pianists this was their first solo-CD recording.
