Michiel Borstlap

Michiel Borstlap (born 5 August 1966 in The Hague) is a Dutch jazz pianist and composer.

Borstlap started playing piano at the age of 5 years.

In 1992 he finished his piano studies with Rob Madna and Henk Elkerbout at the   Hilversum conservatoire  and won first prize at  the European Jazz Competition in Brussels. In 1994 he made his debut at the North Sea Jazz Festival.

His first performances as a leader were in 1992 with his own sextet on the album  Day Off. He has travelled worldwide with his own trio, sextet and as a soloist and played at numerous festivals. In 1996 he won the Thelonious Monk Composition Competition with "Memory of Enchantment", a composition which was later recorded by Herbie Hancock and Wayne Shorter on their album 1 + 1. They played it on their world tours in 1997 and 2000, and (earlier) at the Monk competition.

In 1998 and 1999 he was nominated for the Bird Award at the North Sea Jazz Festival. In 1999 Borstlap received a contract with Verve Records. The first album was Body  Acoustic  an allusion to  the Weather Report  album   I Sing the Body Electric : where  Weather Report tracks  were newly interpreted with acoustic instruments, alongside Borstlap’s  original compositions. With his subsequently- named group “Body Acoustic”  he played on "Verve Nights" at the jazz festivals of Umbria, Berlin or the North Sea Jazz Festival. In 2003 he received a commission from the Emir of Qatar  to compose an opera "Ibn Sina" (Avicenna) about Arabian history.

In 2000 he recorded a solo CD Piano - Solo Standards. In 2001 Gramercy Park followed, consisting of three CDs taken from worldwide live recordings on which he shows his whole range and the influence of Bill Evans, Keith Jarrett and Chick Corea in his playing.

He has worked with various international artists including Roy Hargrove, Jimmy Haslip, Les Paul, James Genus, Han Bennink (as a part of a trio with  Ernst Glerum), Ernst Reijseger, Hans Dulfer, Eric Vloeimans, Toots Thielemans, Jesse van Ruller, Ernie Watts, Bill Bruford, Jon Hendricks, and Gino Vannelli. In 2004 he went on tour with Dutch singer Edsilia Rombley and from 2000 on he has performed frequently with pop singer Trijntje Oosterhuis.

Discography

 * 1992	 	Michiel Borstlap Sextet - Day Off
 * 1995		Michiel Borstlap Sextet - The Sextet Live 2CD
 * 1997		Michiel Borstlap Trio – Residence
 * 1999		Michiel Borstlap – Body Acoustic
 * 2000 		Michiel Borstlap – LiveLine
 * 2001		Michiel Borstlap - Gramercy Park
 * 2004		Michiel Borstlap – Piano Solo Standards
 * 2004		Michiel Borstlap & Bill Bruford – Live In Holland
 * 2004		Michiel Borstlap & Bill Bruford – Every Step A Dance, Every Word A Song
 * 2005		Michiel Borstlap Trio – Coffee & Jazz
 * 2008		Michiel Borstlap & Bill Bruford – In Two Minds
 * 2008		Michiel Borstlap - Eldorado
 * 2010		Michiel Borstlap - Solo 2010
 * 2011		Michiel Borstlap Trio - Live at the Blues Alley (rec. 14.1.2010)
 * 2011		Michiel Borstlap - Blue (Songs From Father to Daughter)
 * 2012		Michiel Borstlap Trio - 88
 * 2012		North Sea Jazzfestival - Legendary Concerts: Michiel Borstlap (release date october 2012)