Jasper van ’t Hof

Jasper van 't Hof (born 30 June 1947) is a Dutch jazz pianist and keyboard player. Van 't Hof was born in Enschede, Overijssel, Netherlands, and began studying piano at the age of five. He played in jazz bands at school, and by the age of 19 was playing at jazz festivals with drummer Pierre Courbois. In 1969, he became a member of Courbois' early European jazz rock band Association P.C. with German guitarist Toto Blanke. As part of Piano Conclave he played with pianists George Gruntz, Joachim Kühn, Wolfgang Dauner, and Keith Jarrett. In 1974, he founded Pork Pie and teamed up with Philip Catherine (guitar), Charlie Mariano (saxophone), Aldo Romano (drums), and Jean-François Jenny Clark (bass guitar). He joined the band Eyeball with saxophonist Bob Malach and violinist Zbigniew Seifert. He had two bands: Face to Face with Danish bassist Bo Stief and saxophonist Ernie Watts and Pili Pili featuring African singer Angelique Kidjo. He played keyboards with Archie Shepp, although he is best known for his solo piano playing. At All About Jazz John Kelman said, "Transitory 's 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."