Chris Hinze, born and grew up in Hilversum, the Netherlands. Hinze’s father was a conductor and he learned the piano and flute as a child. He studied flute at the Royal Conservatory in The Hague and then learned arranging at the Berklee College Of Music in the USA. He won a prize for the best soloist at the Montreux International Jazz Festival in 1970 and formed his jazz fusion group the Combination the following year. He founded his own record label Keytone and has often worked as a producer for other musicians. He moved to New York in 1976 and in the late 70s toured Europe with Chris Hinze And Friends and then in a duo with guitarist Sigi Schwab. In 1972 he won the Beethoven Award of the City of Bonn for a suite called Live Music Now. He continued to write and record symphonic works as well as presenting jazz versions of Baroque composers with his band. He recorded an album of flute solos in the Ellora Caves in India in 1979 and the following year recorded a reggae album with Peter Tosh. He has since included African and Indian musicians in the Combination.