Cornelis Ernst "Cees" Slinger was born on May 19, 1929, in Alkmaar, Netherlands. He began his career as a modern jazz pianist in the 1950s, founding and leading the hardbop combo Diamond Five. The group performed at Amsterdam's Sheherazade jazz club from 1958 to 1962. In 1963, they collaborated with the Concertgebouw Orchestra for Otto Ketting's Concertino for Symphony Orchestra and Jazz Quintet, and in 1964, they disbanded. Slinger took a job in the steel industry but returned to full-time jazz in 1974. He performed with artists like Freddie Hubbard and Dexter Gordon, and accompanied singers such as Betty Carter and Dee Dee Bridgewater. Slinger received the Bird Award at the North Sea Jazz Festival in 1996. He passed away on September 29, 2007, in Den Haag, Netherlands.
