Bassist-pianist-composer Niko Langenhuijsen (Den Bosch, February 12, 1951) comes from the jazz scene of Tilburg. He first made a name for himself with the group Ohm, with whom he won the Larens Jazzconcours in 1973 and was awarded the Wessel Ilcken Prijs in 1975. As a workshop leader he coaches young talent towards the stage, and the first batch finds its way into Langenhuijsens own groups. With three workshop wind players (including saxophonist Ab Baars) he expanded Ohm to a sextet and in 1978 he filled the wind section of his octet Gemeentereinigingsorkest Vaalbleek with young talent from Tilburg. He first stripped the orchestra’s name of the garbage truck associations, then added the extension Vokaal, when he decided to work with three vocalists in 1984. In 1992, he renamed the orchestra the more international-sounding Caoutchouc, and focused on a blending of jazz and Spanish music. That Spanish connection continues to play a role in his musical oeuvre. Besides being a composer, conductor and performing musician Niko Langenhuijsen is also active as a teacher at various conservatories.

1972 – 1974
At the Brabant Conservatory in Tilburg bassist Niko Langenhuijsen meets pianist Willem Kühne. With drummer Pieter Henrard they start a trio that gets the name Group Ohm. In 1972 René van Asten (who would later make a name for himself as an actor) joined the group as a percussionist. In August 1973 they enter the competition of the Jazz Festival Laren, and win the first prize. Group Ohm releases its first LP on its own Syntohn label: Skokian. In Tilburg, Langenhuijsen starts giving workshops in which he teaches young musicians how to improvise. Journalist-organizer Jan Rensen joins the collective, which organizes concerts and workshops in the former Berenhof.

1975
In March Groep Ohm does a tour, extended with the English saxophonist Trevor Watts and tenor saxophonist Ab Baars (who takes workshops with Langenhuijsen). In April the band is awarded the Wessel Ilcken Prize and on this occasion plays in the Bimhuis in a special sextet line-up, with, in addition to Baars, saxophonists Peter Cornelis (soprano) and Rob van Stratum (alto), who also come from the bassist’s workshop. The group continues in this line-up until 1978.

1978
Langenhuijsen starts his own octet, the Gemeentereinigingsorkest Vaalbleek, in which his mate Willem Kühne is again the pianist. The rhythm section also consists of guitarist Peter Mingaars and drummer Frans van Grinsven. Trumpeter Toon de Gouw, trombonist Hans Sparla, and saxophonists Paul van Kemenade and Henk Koekkoek form the front line; they come from the now famous Tilburg Workshop. In 1980, the first LP of the same name appeared on the BVHaast label. Three years later the Tilburg label Eksakt releases the follow-up Doka Bonga.

1980
Radio producer Aad Bos invites Langenhuijsen for the VARA jazz concert. The leader has his band members perform with the other groups they play in. He also invites the anarchist folk band Veulpoepers and trombonist Nils Landgren. The broadcaster records the concert in the Studiozaal in Tilburg.

1984
VARA gives Langenhuijsen a composition assignment, which he performs in the VARA studio with a special sextet with trumpeter Toon de Gouw, trombonist Willem van Manen, cellist Ernst Reijseger, bassist Arnold Dooyeweerd and a violinist from the Brabants Orkest, Bohuslav Zola. Langenhuijsen himself does not play the bass on this occasion, but his first instrument, piano (as well as synthesizer and melodica). Langenhuijsen receives an Edison in 1985 for the LP Hypo, which the broadcaster releases on its own VARAJazz label. For the NOS/Meervaart Festival the bandleader expands his octet Vaalbleek (in the meantime he has dropped the name ‘Gemeentereinigingsorkest’) with three singers: Steini van der Eng, Miriam Snoek and Karin Stelck. For his new vocal compositions Langenhuijsen makes use of texts by English poets such as Sylvia Plath, Richard Murphy and e.e. cummings. The singers remain in the line-up, and the group is henceforth called Vaalbleek Vokaal.

1985
A group of musicians from Tilburg, including Niko Langenhuijsen and Henk Koekkoek, decide to found a serious jazz venue in the city. It was given the name Paradox and to this day will remain a stage with national appeal, not least because of the annual festival Stranger Than Paranoia, which saxophonist Paul van Kemenade has organized in the last days of the year since 1993. Trombonist Willem van Manen forms his new big band, the Contraband, and asks Langenhuijsen to play bass. He plays in the orchestra for one year.

1986
On the initiative of impresario Hanny Kracht, musicians from four corners of the world join forces in the group Compass: saxophonist Paul Stocker (west), guitarist Jan Kuiper (north), drummer Pierre Courbois (east) and Niko Langenhuijsen (south). After an extensive tour of the Netherlands, they record the LP Sanstire in early 1987, which is released by the Traction Avant branch of Tilburg-based Eksakt Records.

1988
Ten years after the start of Vaalbleek, Langenhuijsen thinks it is time for a new line-up. The rhythm section does not change and trumpet player Toon de Gouw stays as well, but the rest of the horn section will look completely different: Eric Vloeimans is the second trumpeter, Martijn Sohier is Hans Sparla’s successor, and Paul Stocker and Dick de Graaf are the new saxophonists. They play more on the group’s first CD, Lonely Hearts (1989). In addition to English-language lyrics, Spanish can be heard on it. It is a text by Spanish poet Federico Garcia Lorca, set to music by Spanish composer Ricardo Pachón, and arranged by Langenhuijsen. Singer Nicole van der Kuinder takes over from Miriam Snoek.

1989
In the group Brevis, of drummer Pierre Courbois and bassist Egon Kracht, Langenhuijsen replaces pianist Koos Janssens. In this way he is back with the instrument on which he once started. The trio initially works with a different horn player each year, until saxophonist Frans Vermeerssen establishes himself as the permanent fourth man.

1990
Langenhuijsen can also be heard as a pianist in Chazz! The group, led by saxophonist Dick de Graaf and trumpeter Eric Vloeimans, also includes bassist Eric Calmes and drummer Hans Eijkenaar. The quintet, which plays an energetic kind of hard bop, is not long-lived and only releases one CD: Passing the Bar.

1992
Langenhuijsen becomes increasingly interested in Spanish music, particularly that of Ricardo Pachón. He decides to dedicate an entire project to the work of Garcia Lorca, with music by Pachón as well as his own compositions. He changed the name of the group to the more international sounding Caoutchouc. He also replaces the three singers with one man (Herman van Doorn) and two women (Sylvia de Hartog and Astrid Wijn). Furthermore, Paul Weiling is the new tenor saxophonist, succeeding Dick de Graaf. In 1993 the CD Plays Garcia Lorca is released by Timeless.

1996
The NPS-EBU invites Langenhuijsen to play with a new small formation at the festival in Montreal, Canada. He formed a trio with guitarist Anton Goudsmit, saxophonist Jasper Blom and himself on the piano.

1998
At the invitation of the Metropole Orchestra Niko Langenhuijsen creates a Lorca program with Frits Bayens (NPS) and Rini Kersten (Centro Flamenco Puro) on the occasion of the hundredth birthday of the poet. Vince Mendoza and Joan Albert Amargós are the other two arrangers approached. Under the direction of conductor José Vicente, the orchestra performs the pieces. Ten years later the project is followed up, and under the direction of conductor Vince Mendoza CD recordings are also made, which the German label Act releases in 2009.

2000
On the occasion of its 75th anniversary, the NCRV asks Langenhuijsen to write a composition for two amateur big bands, plus the AJO Youth Orchestra and the Metropole Orchestra. The 176 musicians perform Aron’s Site in Muziekcentrum Vredenburg in Utrecht.

2001
Eric Vloeimans, as programmer of the jazz festival at de Doelen Rotterdam, and the NPS ask Langenhuijsen to write a final piece for the Metropole Orchestra featuring Eric Vloeimans, French-Vietnamese guitarist Nguyen Lê, Swedish bassist Lars Danielsson, Finnish drummer Markku Ounaskari, cellist Ernst Reijseger, American trombonist Ray Anderson and Norwegian accordionist Stian Carstensen as soloists. Michael Gibbs conducts.

2003
When Pierre Courbois founds his Five-Fourths Sextet, he brings his old companions Willem Kühne and Niko Langenhuijsen into the group. In 2007 the ensemble makes its first CD: Révocation.

2004
Pianist Albert van Veenendaal asks Niko Langenhuijsen and Belgian Jozef Dumoulin to form the Traveling Light Piano Trio. The group, with three pianos on one stage, lasts until 2007 and records the CD Terra Firma in 2005.

2006
Saxophonist Ferdi Schukking asks Langenhuijsen as bassist to form a new trio with pianist Jarno van Es.

2009
The artistic director of the November Music festival in Den Bosch, Bert Palinckx, gives Langenhuijsen a carte blanche. He makes use of it with a project he calls Stranger Than a Paradox. He came up with an unusual lineup that included, besides his old drum partner Frans van Grinsven, a flamenco singer from Barcelona, Carlos Denia, flamenco guitarist Timo van der Sman, singer Charlotte Schoeters, saxophonist Kim Hoogvliet, euphonium player Judith van Boven and Iraqi violinist Govar Hamilton. The music is a concoction of jazz, flamenco and Arabic music.