Updated: March 18, 2025
Born: May 8, 1964
Heleen has received many great reviews as a singer and composer. Her professional singing career began when piano miracle Bert van den Brink heard Heleen’s voice in 2000 and spoke of “love on first hearing” . With him, bass player Tony Overwater and percussionist Joshua Samson she recorded two albums and a live recorded DVD and performed at the North Sea Jazz festival, Concertgebouw, BIMhuis, and many other fine stages in the Netherlands and abroad.
Heleen's first album Heard in the Scene (2002) mainly consisted of jazz & soul repertoire. For her second album and theatre tour with the same band, under the title Rush in the Woods! (2004), Heleen's long-standing passion for tropical forests inspired the lyrics and compositions, all originals. With a new team, consisting of Jeroen Vierdag (bass), Erik Rutjes (guitar), Karel Boehlee (piano) and Bart Fermie (percussion) she recorded Way Back Home (2011) a musical tribute to life, despite all loss and longing.
Her fourth solo album Blue Lifeblood (2018) was dedicated to the water world. Reunited with Bert van den Brink, this time with bass player Theo de Jong and percussionist Shahin During, she stepped up to another level of vocal performance. In the same year she recorded an album with jazz standards with Steffen t Hart on piano, Songs for a Rainy Day (2018).
Sapiens Unlimited (2024) is her newest album made up of 100 % Heleen's originals inspired by humanity itself and how ancient features still run around in our blood today. With Erik Rutjes (guitar and co-production), Jeroen Vierdag (bass), Arthur Lijten (drums, percussion) and Marcus Olgers (keys & sounds).
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Heleen van den Hombergh: Going Dutch
by C. Michael Bailey
Dutch vocalist Heleen van den Hombergh has released bookend recordings, Rush In The Woods (2004) and Way Back Home (2011). In between, life intervened, as it often will, coloring the second release considerably different from the first. Hombergh's singing and composition remain organic and compelling over the whole course, offering a glimpse at an artist at two very different places. Heleen van den Hombergh Rush In The Woods Soul On Track ...
Continue Reading“Intimate and tender, but also convincing and powerful.” (Frans van Leeuwen NRC Handelsblad, NL)
“Authentic passion and artistry, a true story to tell and the talent to make it beautiful.” (Judith Schlesinger All Music Guide, Jazz Institute Chicago, USA)
"Stylish and unusual (…) her soulful lyrics and silken tones speak for themselves." (Jack Massarik Evening Standard, UK)
“A beautiful mixture of jazz, pop and soul.” (Wolfgang Platzeck WAZ Newspaper, Germany)
“Van den Hombergh and her united band members take each other to higher levels of performance…Van den Hombergh has an expressive voice (…) her singing is always emotional and the lyrics are universal. (Ruud Heiijer Heaven Pop Magazine, NL)
