Trijntje Oosterhuis

Biography

Jazz-pop vocalist Trijntje Oosterhuis (aka Traincha) was born in Amsterdam on February 5, 1973. Daughter of a theologian (Huub Oosterhuis) and a musician (Jozefien Melief, flutist for the Amsterdam Promenada Orchestra), Trijntje was brought up in a culturally rich, supportive household. At 17 she formed a group with her brother Tjeerd called Total Touch. Together the siblings performed consistently, even entering the Grote Prijs van Nederland, an important amateur music competition. Trijntje developed a good reputation regionally, which led to collaborations with increasingly influential artists. Her partnership with the well-established saxophonist Candy Dulfer began with a two-year international tour following their first joint effort, Big Girl, in 1995. The following year Trijntje's work with Total Touch reached new heights with the release of their self-titled debut. Two years later the group's follow-up, This Way, hit number one on Dutch charts, ultimately going quadruple platinum. Total Touch split as the siblings began to develop different career paths, beginning with Trijntje's solo debut, For Once in My Life, which went gold in 1999. Her self-titled follow-up, released in 2003, established Oosterhuis as her nation's premier jazz diva. Signed to Blue Note in 2004, Oosterhuis continued to distance herself from the pop world with Strange Fruit, drawing repertoire from the likes of George Gershwin and Billie Holiday. The 2005 release See You as I Do and 2006's Burt Bacharach collaboration The Look of Love have continued to distinguish Oosterhuis as one of the finest European vocal jazz talents of her generation. ~ Evan C. Gutierrez, All Music Guide