Personal
Cees Ernst Slinger was born in Alkmaar in 1929. He got private classical piano lessons
from the age of nine untill fifteen, but learned how to play jazz during the war in Winschoten.
His cousin had a jazzband there 'de Sodoma's, so called because Winschoten was mentioned
as Sodom of the province Groningen and Cees played in that band.
After the war they played for the Canadian liberators for chewing-gum, cigarettes and chocolate.
During his study on Nijenrode, Cees has already his own trio in which he also sings.
He has been asked to join The Diamonds by Cees Smal and out of this band he has formed 'The Diamond Five'.
He is a professional musician during the years 1954 till 1962 when The Diamond Five own the Amsterdam jazzclub Sheherazade.
When their club is sold he starts working for the steel company Hoogovens, at first as buyer of raw materials
later as personnel officer, but during the evenings and weekends he continues to play jazz, in those days with a.o.
Ben Webster and Boy's Big Band.
In 1974 he resignes from Hoogovens and is professional musician again.
When American soloists came to Holland they were often accompanied by either Cees or Rein de Graaff.
The list of name-musicians with whom he has played is impressive.
View the Biography.
Aad Bos quotes: "The list of names he did not play with is much shorter".
His marriage with the American Marilyn Johnson, with whom he has three children,
came to an end and he moved to The Hague.
During half a year he works for the city government until Philly Joe Jones asks him for a big European tour.
From 1979 – 1989 Cees works as a teacher and ensemble leader at the Rotterdam Conservatory.
When Cees went to New York in 1974 he met Cedar Walton, who was playing in Boomer's jazz club.
Cees told him "you play everything I always wanted to play". And from that moment on their long-term
friendship started.
Cedar has always been his inspiration source.
He married Hilde Ouborg, who has been 32 years active as a manager of his bands.
Cees had heartproblems since 1999 and passed away by this illness in 2007.
Cees Slinger has been one of the founders of the modern jazz in The Netherlands.
Right now Hilde is production-assistant of the Jazz Orchestra of the Concertgebouw (JOC) and is Personal Manager of Simon Rigter.