'Spotting Gateways' is built around an eternal challenge and personal aim while creating music: daring to keep the music open enough in the moment itself and stay close and connect to the higher potential it can offer.

Bram De Looze's 4th solo album was released January 19, 2024 on Dox Records.

Bram De Looze Solo - Spotting Gateways

Bass player Yannick Peeters is no stranger to the Belgian jazz scene, but while she has always appeared in other people’s projects before, the moment has now come for her to launch her very own project. A new band for which she was able to gather a real dream team around her, with which she can go in search of music that throws out unnecessary ballast and puts maximum effort into a sound that is as daring and authentic.

The bass player was in search of a new, more spiritual sound that can take different forms and contain strong contrasts, with elements from jazz, rock, avant-garde and impro. Rawness, fragility, lyricism, originality and integrity must be able to coexist. The musicians she invited are all personalities with a vision; creative stubborn people who won’t settle for mediocrity.

Tom Rainey is a player who swerves between avant-garde notions and a mainstream sensibility and when he plays the smell of invention is in the air”, says L.A. Times. He has performed at festivals and clubs throughout North America and Europe with a wide range of artists, including John Abercrombie, Tim Berne, Jane Ira Bloom, Ted Curson… Peeters also calls upon alto saxophonist Frans Van Isacker and guitarist Frederik Leroux, who can easily be counted among the most idiosyncratic representatives of Belgian jazz and improvisation. These are restless spirits who keep looking for new sounds, contexts and like-minded people, and are therefore the ideal partners in crime for Peeters.

The band recorded their debut album ‘GingerBlackGinger’ in September, which was released in January 2024 on the Belgian label W.E.R.F. Records. This album is a showcase of their unique talent, combining extensive soundscapes, brief bursts of energy, and mesmerizing grooves. Each track is carefully crafted, presenting a blend of captivating sounds that take the listener on a  journey.

GingerBlackGinger

Yves Peeters Group - Sad news

Opening concert of CIMF 2024 by Persian tar player Hamed Sadeghi, acclaimed Belgian pianist Bram De Looze, and Australian didgeridoo legend William Barton.

Bram De Looze, William Barton, Hamed Sadeghi - Canberra International Music Festival opening

Pianist Bram De Looze’s broad musical taste and exceptional musicianshipis already noted in different bands as LABtrio, Dre Hocevar Trio en the trio De Looze/Machtel/De Waele.

With his brand new project, the Bram De Looze Septych, The prodigious pianist (°1991) mixes composed and improvised music in a subtle way with contemporary classical music and jazz. In order to make this happen he surrounds himself with an international cast of astounding musicians from the US, Germany, Netherlands and Belgium.

This project will mark the debut for Bram De Looze concerning a big international ensemble. The music connects with a future-oriented vision on the contemporary multicultural society and the actualization of music of the past for which western music serves as a treasure chamber for the septych.

With the new compositions from Robin Verheyen, Bo van der Werf and himself in mind he assembled an unusual ensemble: a tree-piece horn section consisting of clarinets and saxophones, 2 cellos, piano and drums. The musicians he brought together are one by one major participants on the international jazz and impro scene. These musicians contribute with their diverse capacities to the eclectic character of the project.

Robin Verheyen (B) (Soprano- and tenor Saxophone) invited Bram in 2011 for a duo concert in Gent. Their mutual contact remained unbroken since they met again in New York.

Bo Van der Werf (B) (Baritone saxophone and Bas clarinet) developed a unique musical language in the remarkable oeuvre of Octurn and Lidlboy.

Gebhard Ullmann (GER) (Tenor Saxophone and Clarinet) is a leading figure on the international scene, residing in New York as well as Berlin. He worked together with Paul Bley, Lee Konitz, Trilok Gurtu, Enrico Rava and many others.

Lester St-Louis (US) (Cello) plays together with Bram De Looze in the Dre Hocevar Trio and is active as a composer, improviser and performer in traditional and experimental contemporary classical music and jazz.

Daniel Levin (US) (cello) is an axceptional figure on his instrument who played with Rob Brown, Nate Wooley, Matt Moran, etc.

Flin Van Hemmen (US) (Drums) is the fascinating drummer of the Narcissus Quartet and works together with Todd Neufeld, Eivind Opsvik and Kris Davis.

BRAM DE LOOZE (PIANO); ROBIN VERHEYEN (SOPRANo- TENORSAX); BO VAN DER WERF (BARITONe SAX, BAS CLARINET); GEBHARD ULLMANN (TENOR SAX, BAS CLARINET); LESTER ST-LOUIS (CELLO); DANIEL LEVIN (CELLO); FLIN VAN HEMMEN (DRUMS)

BRAM DE LOOZE - Septych - 01 - Thorium  44k - 16b

Too Noisy Fish - Dark

Robin Verheyen en Bram De Looze behoren ongetwijfeld tot de meest vooraanstaande figuren van de hedendaagse Belgische jazzscene.  Beide zijn virtuozen op hun instrument, componisten met een visie en bandleiders die elk een eigenwijs traject uitstippelden. En… beide zijn Monk-fan.  In duo spelen ze al enkele jaren het repertoire van Thelonious Monk.  Op vraag van BOZAR vonden ze de Amerikaanse slagwerker Joey Baron bereid om het trio te vervoegen. Als jarenlange sparringpartner van John Zorn (Massada, Naked City), Bill Frisell en Marc Copland heeft hij zijn sporen in de hedendaagse jazzwereld meer dan verdiend.  Met een tomeloze energie op de drums daagt hij uit en zalft hij tegelijkertijd.  De ideale uitdager voor het perfecte trio om de muziek van Monk alle eer aan te doen.

Dance Live At Monk - KLARA (Belgium Radio)

First taste of Warped Dreamer's upcoming album 'Live at Bimhuis' (Consouling Sounds, February 26, 2021)

Personnel:
Arve Henriksen - trompet, voice and electronics
Teun Verbruggen - drums and electronics
Jozef Dumoulin - fender rhodes and fx
Stian Westerhus - guitar and electronics

Recorded by Dieter Claeys at Bimhuis, Amsterdam, June 2016
Mixed, edited and mastered by Stian Westerhus, August 2018

Artwork: Carlos Caballero
Lay out: Peter Verbruggen

Warped Dreamer - Golden Geek Award

Inside Jazz is a Belgian (International) management, production, communication and booking agency.

Inside Jazz Management

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