Tineke Postma was born August 31, 1978, in Heerenveen, Netherlands, and began playing saxophone at eleven. She studied at the Amsterdam Conservatory from 1996 to 2003, earning a cum laude Master's degree, and completed a further master's at the Manhattan School of Music in New York in 2002, studying with David Liebman, Dick Oatts, and Chris Potter, whose own career is covered in full in his JazzProfiles.com profile. She lived in New York from 2009 to 2013, absorbing the city's creative energy.

Postma has taught at the Amsterdam Conservatory since 2005 and continues teaching internationally at the Royal Conservatory of The Hague and as a guest instructor elsewhere. She was named a rising star for soprano saxophone in DownBeat's 2019 critics poll, and her honors include the Jazz à Juan Revelations Award (2009), the Boy Edgar Prize (2015), the French Académie du Jazz's European Musician of the Year (2020), and two Dutch Edison Awards, for The Dawn of Light (2011) and Voya featuring Theo Bleckmann (2024).

Beyond leading her own ensembles, Postma has collaborated with major figures including Kenny Barron, Esperanza Spalding, whose own career is covered in full in her JazzProfiles.com profile, Herbie Hancock, Terri Lyne Carrington, Danilo Pérez, whose own career is covered in full in his JazzProfiles.com profile, Linda May Han Oh, and Geri Allen, including on Carrington's 2011 album The Mosaic Project. Her nine albums as a leader include 2020's Freya, featuring Ralph Alessi, Kris Davis, bassist Matt Brewer, whose own career is covered in full in his JazzProfiles.com profile, and Dan Weiss.

Postma's studies under David Liebman, Dick Oatts, and Chris Potter, combined with her sustained collaborations with figures including Herbie Hancock, Esperanza Spalding, and Danilo Pérez, established her as one of the most internationally recognized Dutch jazz saxophonists of her generation, with particular acclaim for her soprano playing.