In 1957 pianist and composer Jan Huydts put together his own trio and at the same time worked as pianist of the Herman Schoonderwalt Quartet. At the beginning of the sixties Huydts worked at the Blue Note jazz club in Berlin, where he co-operated with artists like Dexter Gordon, Johnny Griffin and Donald Byrd. Later on he played an important part as pianist/arranger/conductor with cabaretier Wim Sonneveld and toured Europe with jazz-rock formation Third Eye. After several years of working as conductor and arranger in service of artist Jasperina de Jong he teamed up with Wim Overgaauw and became co-ordinator of the jazz department at the Conservatory of Hilversum. Nowadays Huydts is accompanying singer Greetje Kauffeld. Jazz at the Pinehill is his first solo-CD. On that album he plays well-known pieces like You Don't Know What Love Is and Our Love is here to Stay.
The CD-series Jazz at the Pinehill 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.
