Vera MarijtJazz Pianist/Educator

Vera Marijt (1989) is a young up-and-coming jazz pianist from the Netherlands, currently based in Montréal. She recorded her debut album "Insight Out" in Canada in 2015 and performs internationally with her trio, The Vera Marijt Trio.

Vera's appreciation for Jazz developed at a young age, while she was listening to Diana Krall and got introduced to the music of jazz icons such as Nat King Cole, Billie Holiday and Louis Armstrong. After reading a book about the life of pianist Bud Powell and listening to his music, she got fascinated by the Bebop style and was hooked and determined to conquer the technique and language of this complex genre.

Upon finishing high school in 2007 Vera attended the prestigious Berklee College of Music in Boston, USA for the summer which became her entrance into the world of jazz. In the Hague she studied with the accomplished jazz pianist Juraj Stanik and participated in masterclasses by Barry Harris, Branford Marsalis, Mike Manieri, Alan Broadbent, Hein van de Geyn, Rob van Bavel and others. Upon invitation to attend the annual International Association for Schools of Jazz (IASJ) at Graz, Austria in 2012, she played with international musicians from all over the world and was mentored by Dave Liebman and Hervé Sellin.

Vera Marijt performs arrangements of Jazz standards and originals at several occasions with her own trio. She won prices at competitions such as the Leidse Jazz Award and the Zoetermeer Jazz Concours.

Besides her own project, Vera played in the West Coast Big Band, in which she had the privilege to play with some of the best musicians in the Dutch Jazz scene such as Ferdinand Povel, Martijn van Iterson, Bert Boeren, Frits Landesbergen and Joke Bruijs. For years she was a core member of Alice in Dixieland, a women's jazz band with whom she toured through Germany twice.

While in the Hague, Vera began collaborating with fellow band members Camilla van der Kooij on violin and guitar, and Oukje den Hollander on vocals in their trio called 'Mannekijn'. This trio's repertoire includes original compositions and arrangements of

© Vera Marijt 2015

existing music by composers such as Jacques Brel, translated in Dutch. With this group she has toured through the Netherlands in 2013/2014 and released a videoclip, available on Youtube.

Vera and Oukje den Hollander have a long history of collaboration. In April 2014, they performed three nights in the famous Compagnie theatre in Amsterdam with the show 'Aria van een Angsthaas'.

In 2014, Vera moved to Montréal, Canada, to study with André White, Francois Bourassa and Rémi Bolduc at McGill Schulich of Music. Since then, she had the privilege to play with some of Montréal's finest musician such as Fraser Hollins, Alec Walkington, Norman Marshall Villeneuve, Joe Sullivan and Jim Doxas. She did a small tour in Toronto with saxophonist Rémi Bolduc and played with the renowned McGill Jazz Orchestra featuring the great Danilo Perez.

In July 2015, Vera released her debut album "Insight Out", featuring original music as well as arrangements of jazz standards. She launched her CD on July 15th, playing the opening concert of the Festival Internacional Jazz de Verano in Querétaro, Mexico.

© Vera Marijt 2015