About us
After a four-year tour of Dutch theaters, Jazz and Wine seeks the intimacy of a number of exclusive restaurants and other, special locations. In this more personal atmosphere, our trusted musicians play both own songs and jazz classics, while leading lady Joyce Stevens takes you on a special taste journey, full of wonderful wine secrets.
Tico Pierhagen
Composer – Pianist – Music director
Tico Pierhagen, (1975, Pasto, Colombia) born in South America and raised in the Netherlands is a composer, pianist and producer. After studying at the Utrecht School of the Arts, where he obtained his master’s degree in Arts as an applied composer, he studied at the conservatory in Rotterdam. Since reuniting with his biological family in Colombia in 2008, he has focused on composing and performing his own music. Besides his own Jazz, Funk and Cumbia quintet: “Tico y Aguabjao”, he has been playing with Joyce Stevens in her Jazz formation “JazzGents” since 2006. As a music director he worked with Joyce and her band members at Jazz and Wine the theater performance and now Jazz and Wine in Concert.
Pieter Althuis
Arranger – Double bass player
Pieter plays bass from the age of 15. He felt early on that that was what he had to do.
Besides playing in various soul, rock, and funk bands, his taste in music expanded rapidly and interest in jazz music followed.
A logical step was the conservatory where he graduated with an extra note for classical double bass.
Pieter has been touring with various artists at home and abroad for 25 years. (Europe, Colombia, Suriname, Australia, Japan, etc) Pieter always plays the right groove, the right ‘color’ and with pleasure. An important goal is: “I want to make someone else sound better through my accompaniment.”
Rowin Tettero
Drummer
Rowin has been drumming from the age of eight. His love for funk is great and his taste in music is wide. His father showed him jazz records and took him to concerts at the North Sea Jazz. Besides jazz, Rowin listened to pop, soul and funk as a red and long-haired teenager and played in a country band. He studied drums at the conservatory. In music and theater he works with diverse artists such as Van Wyck, Hartog, Freek de Jonge, Alex Roeka, Ellen ten Damme, Solo, Jack Dynamite Construction, Jazzkeizers, Raymzter and the Mindmenders. It has been said and written about Rowin: Drummer Rowin plays atmospheric, colorful and whispering as well as grooving, swinging and stoking the fire, and always with dedication and pleasure.
Freek Halsema
Trombonist – Conductor – Arranger – Musical director
In the local brass band, Freek was fascinated by the theatrical character of the trombone at a young age.
His love for the instrument resulted in a study at the Rotterdam Conservatory, where he was taught by teachers such as Christian Lindberg, Jiggs Whigham, Mark Nightingale and Conrad Herwig and eventually graduated for Jazz in 2006 with Bart van Lier and Ilja Reijngoud.
Freek continued his studies in New York with, among others, Wycliffe Gordon.
He played with, among others, Kool and the Gang, Bill Reichenbach, Gerard Presencer and Philip Catherine.
Since 2011, Freek has been conducting big bands such as Bobby’s Bigband and Swing Time Bigband, playing with his own formation Early Bird Special and trombone quartet Slide!, The Crazy Horns, the FQB Horns.
Freek can be heard at practically every North Sea Jazz Festival and has a permanent place in the much acclaimed Holland Bigband.
Arjen de Groot
Trumpeter – Bugle – Arranger – Conductor
Arjen de Groot (1973) studied trumpet LM with Jarmo Hoogendijk at Codarts in Rotterdam. Since then he has performed several jazz concerts in the Netherlands, France, Germany, Thailand, Indonesia and America. In addition to his work as a trumpet player, Arjen is also active as a conductor and arranger for various orchestras and big bands.
Joyce Stevens
Leading Lady, Narrator – Producer
Joyce studied at the High School of the Arts, The European School of Jazzdance and received a double scholarship to the Gus Giordano Dance Center in Chicago and attended the Wine & Spirit Education Trust, WSET. Joyce has appeared in various musicals such as West Side Story, Cats, Jekyll and Hide, Company, Saturday Night fever, Fame, Chicago, Palazzo and many more. She formed her band JazzGents in 2010, after which she wrote and produced the theatershow Jazz and Wine in 2017, which toured the Dutch theaters. This resulted in the current spin-off Jazz and Wine Concerts, which can be seen in restaurants and beautiful locations.
