The website of Interzone, biography of Jean Paul Steeghs

Jean Paul Steeghs

compositions, arrangements, musical coordination

Born in 1964 in Vleuten-De Meern, Netherlands.

Studied classical piano at the Municipal Music School in Utrecht until 1980. Advanced studies at the Royal Conservatory in The Hague and the Hilversum Conservatory in the Netherlands between 1984 and 1990, majoring in double bass (with John Clayton and Koos Serierse) and composition (with Kenny Napper).
Outside the field of music, Jean Paul holds university degrees in information technology, and orthopedagogy.

Played in various original projects with coming young musicians such as Maarten Ornstein, Wim Kegel, Marco Kegel, and Michiel Scheen during the mid eighties. In the late 80's - beginning 90's Jean Paul Steeghs toured the Dutch, Belgian and German club and festival scene with bands as the Ad Colen-Willem Schoenmaker Quintet (with Sebastian Altekamp and Joost Lijbaart), the Fred Berkemeijer Quartet (with John Engels and Nol Sikking), the Ruud Brink/Jan van Twuyver Quartet (with Hans Beun) and the Maino Remmers Big Band.
After having lived in Brazil in the mid 90's, where he worked with local drum & rhythm groups in the slums of the city of Salvador, Jean Paul studied orthopedagogy at the Free University in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Upon graduation, he became doctoral teacher in general orthopedagogy at the Free University in Amsterdam.
In 2002 he abandoned his teaching activities to return to his initial profession: writing original compositions and arrangements for larger jazz bands. Next to working as a jazz composer/arranger, Jean Paul is playing drums with different rock bands in Oost Groningen.

Current bands and projects include Jezebel, and Interzone.

A selection of recordings by Jean Paul Steeghs:

Mutare Ensemble & Interzone (2007). ScoreTalk. Germany: HfK Bremen.
Interzone & Ton Luiting (2006). Terra incognita. Netherlands: Gomy Music.
Sebastian Altekamp Trio (2002). Live at the Mephisto, feat. Deborah Brown. Private release.
Ad Colen-Willem Schoenmaker Quintet (1990). This thing called love. Amsterdam: CSQ.