Jazz pianist
Peter Beets was born June 12, 1971, in The Hague, Netherlands. From birth he was surrounded by classical music via his mother and jazz from his father, the latter of whom was a fan of
Oscar Peterson and
Art Blakey. Older brothers
Marius, a bassist, and Alexander, a tenor saxophonist, and the family moved in 1972 to Groenlo, where
Peter received his first piano lessons at the age of six.
Peter studied in his late teens and early twenties at the Royal Conservatory in The Hague, and also attended law school. In 1985,
the Beets Brothers teamed up professionally, and in 1988
Peter won the Pall Mall Swing Award and a year later the Princess Christina Award. In 1990 the first recording of
the Beets Brothers was issued, followed by School Is Closed Now and
Brotherwise. Then
Peter recorded his debut as a leader, First Date, with drummer
Jeff Hamilton. Completing conservatory studies, he won the Parisian Prix du
Martial Solal, and became a member of
the Jazz Orchestra of the Concertgebouw. He has been making recordings for the Criss Cross label, working with Americans like
Rodney Whitaker,
Willie Jones III,
Larry Grenadier,
Reginald Veal,
Herlin Riley,
Joe Cohn, and
Reuben Rogers, as well as fellow Dutch jazzmen
Martijn Van Iterson and
Ruud Jacobs. Though rarely in the U.S., he has toured Europe extensively. Over the years
Peter Beets has collaborated with
Curtis Fuller,
Chick Corea,
Wynton Marsalis,
Dee Dee Bridgewater,
George Coleman,
Johnny Griffin,
Chris Potter, and
John Clayton. ~ Michael G. Nastos