Jeffrey Bruinsma studied violin at the Royal Conservatoire in The Hague and at the Conservatory of Amsterdam. His teachers were Qui van Woerdekom, Isabelle van Keulen, Peter Nieuwerf and Jasper Blom, among others.
After winning the Deloitte Jazz Award in 2006, the jury called him ‘a very communicative and creative musician’ and praised his ‘beautifully constructed solos and passionate performance’.
In 2009, Jeffrey presented his first album Area 51 with his group Bruinsma Syndicaat consisting of Jesse van Ruller, Gulli Gudmundsson, Martijn Vink and Afra Mussawisade.
With string quartet Zapp4 he made a splash at home and abroad. They gave concerts from London to Cairo and worked with artists such as Ane Brun and Jan Bang. The album We Suck Young Blood, the Radiohead Songbook was received with great praise. This resulted in a performance at the King's Day concert in 2016.
Since 2017, Jeffrey has been part of Pynarello as a violinist and composer. His pieces Het Gouden Wagentje, Hymnus, After Dark and Milk It Punk are now part of Pynarello's permanent repertoire and have been heard at festivals such as Into The Great Wide Open and Wonderfeel.
For his new project Art of the In-Between, Jeffrey Bruinsma explores to what extent it is possible to draw a line under his musical past and create something from scratch, like a painter starts on a blank canvas. A search for new possibilities of form and expression. He is assisted by a true all-star line-up: Jesse van Ruller on guitar, Thomas Pol on double bass and Jamie Peet on drums. The album of Art of the In-Between will be presented in the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam in January 2025, followed by a tour of the country.
Jeffrey Bruinsma is a principal subject teacher at the Conservatory of Amsterdam and the Royal Conservatoire in The Hague.