Rob van Bavel is a pianist, educator, composer and arranger. He graduated in 1987 from the Rotterdam Conservatory with the highest possible mark (A with distinction). He won several awards, such as the second prize at the first Thelonious Monk Jazzpiano Competition in Washington DC, soloist awards in Germany and Belgium, the Wessel Ilcken Award in the Netherlands, and an Edison (the Dutch equivalent of a Grammy) for the cd Rob van Bavel Trio. Released more than hundred cd’s as a sideman and as leader and toured all over Europe, Canada, USA, Japan, Vietnam, Indonesia, South Korea and Siberia. He played regularly with Woody Shaw, Randy Brecker, Johnny Griffin, Gary Willis and others. He is a teacher at the conservatories of Rotterdam and Amsterdam and gas given masterclasses in South Korea, Liechtenstein, Spain and Holland.