The Searing Quartet was formed in 1995 at the Maastricht Conservatory in The Netherlands. Pianist Egbert Derix and saxplayer Peter Hermesdorf took the initiative to form this band as a “vehicle” for their own compositions and musical ideas. The quartet has performed in The Netherlands, Belgium, and Germany. In 1999 the Searing Quartet’s debut-cd, “Aquamagia”, was released. “Aquamagia” was produced by Christoph Erbstoesser and features the compositions of Egbert Derix and Peter Hermesdorf . In 2001 the Searing Quartet played the final of the Dutch Jazz Competition in the Diligentia Theatre in The Hague at the eve of the North Sea Jazz Festival. In november 2001 the Searing Quartet was honored with the first Jerry van Rooyen Award. In 2003 ‘Set Sail!’, their second cd, was released, and the Searing Quartet played at the North Sea Jazz Festival. 2004: release of cd ‘Starling Hill’. In september 2006 ‘Starling Hill’, performed by the Searing Quartet, is judged one of the best ten jazzcompositions at the annual Thelonious Monk Competition in Washington D.C. 2007: cd ‘Licence to Extend’. In 2008 Iain Matthews & Searing Quartet release the album ‘Joy Mining’. In 2009 Egbert Derix receives a composition assignment from the Schunck* Glaspaleis in Heerlen, Netherlands. The Searing Quartet performs his suite ‘Jirayu’. 2010: Searing Quartet celebrates its 15 year anniversary. In 2014 “Joy Mining” is released in the US by Omnivore Recordings.