UNESCO International Jazz Day in Belgium: 30th of April
In November 2011, UNESCO officially designated April 30 as International Jazz Day in order to highlight jazz and its diplomatic role of uniting people in all corners of the globe. Each year on April 30th, Belgium celebrates this tribute to jazz music and its fundamental role in uniting people across the globe, promoting peace, dialogue among cultures, diversity, and respect for human rights and human dignity.
MANNEKEN TOOTS
09:00 > 16:00
€ Free
@ Crossroads Rue de l’Etuve / Rue du Chêne, 1000 Brussels
On the occasion of the International Jazz Day, the Manneken-Pis will be dressed up as Toots Thielemans, the greatest Belgian harmonica player. Born in the Marolles, Brussels native Toots Thielemans (1922-2016) has played alongside some of the world’s greatest jazz artists.
STIB LOVES JAZZ
PLAYLIST
All day long
Special selection “Belgian musicians”. Broadcast on the entire network.
VIDEO PROJECTION
Broadcast all day long
€ Free
@ Métro Botanique
Selection of images from the archives of Sonuma.
LIVE SOUNDTRACK
18:00 > 19:00
€ Free
@ Espace Qartier
Métro Bourse-Grand-Place
Semi-improvised music, played live on the images of Charles Dekeukeleire’s films Combat de boxe (1927, duration 7min38sec) and Impatience (1928, duration 36min31sec), by the duo Benoît Leseure (violin and electronics) and Fabien Leseure (keyboard and electronics).
LIVE JAZZ AT THE MUSEUM
10:30 > 16:30 € Free
Reservation recommended
@ Les Lundis d’Hortense
info@leslundisdhortense.be | + 32 2 219 58 51
Five museums in Brussels open their doors to jazz by playing original duos in the exceptional setting of their halls. The opportunity to discover the city and its museums in a musical way!
PROGRAM
10:30 > 11:15 JEAN-PAUL ESTIÉVENART / CEZARIUSZ GADZINA
Duo trumpet / saxophone
@ experience.brussels – Salle des Parapluies
Rue Royale 2-4, 1000 Brussels
Jean-Paul Estiévenart is a hard working, creative and inventive musical spirit. He is the most popular trumpet player of the Belgian jazz scene. In his ten-year career, he has had the opportunity to play with great names such as Enrico Pieranuzzi, Avishai Cohen, Logan Richardson, Noel Gallagher, Perico Sambeat, and Maria Schneider.. Estiévenart appears on more than 40 albums and has recorded two albums as a leader.
Polish saxophonist Cezariusz Gadzina studied at the Lemmensinstituut in Leuven (Belgium) and the Royal Conservatory of Brussels. He is the recipient of several awards, including the Grand Prize of the International Jazz Competition of Sorgues in France. Founder of the European Saxophone Ensemble (2008) and the Belgian Saxophone Ensemble (2012), Gadzina has performed in festivals and venues around the world.
12:00 > 12:45 JEAN-LOUIS RASSINFOSSE / JEANFRANÇOIS PRINS
Duo double bass / guitar
@ Museum of the National Bank of Belgium – Atrium
Rue Montagne aux Herbes potagères 57, 1000 Brussels
Bassist Jean-Louis Rassinfosse is a prominent figure in the Belgian jazz scene. He has toured the world with some of the greatest jazz musicians such as Philly Joe Jones, Clifford Jordan, Claudio Roditi, Richard Galliano, Michel Pettrucciani, Chet Baker, Steve Houben, Toots Thielemans, Eric Legnini “The Soul of Poets”, and José Van Dam among others. His home-grown sound and singing upright bass resonates on more than a hundred albums. Unstoppable, he never ceases to surprise the listener!
Guitarist, composer, arranger and producer Jeanfrançois Prins has spent most of his career between New York City and Berlin, until recently moving back to his roots: Brussels. Collaborating with many international jazz giants, he performed and recorded all over Europe, the U.S.A., Latin America and Asia. A melodic story-teller, he enjoys risk-taking improvisation and organic interaction. Jeanfrançois has recorded 7 CDs as a leader, one can hear him on more than 50 other CDs as a guest soloist.
13:30 > 14:15 EVE BEUVENS / FRANÇOIS VAIANA
Duo piano / vocal
@ Jewish Museum of Belgium
Rue des Minimes 21, 1000 Brussels
Pianist Eve Beuvens studied philosophy before beginning to study piano with Nathalie Loriers at the Koninklijk Conservatorium van Brussel. Beuvens recorded her first quartet album in 2009. An ambitious and inspired composer, she has taken part in projects of very different styles, turning her into a determined and convincing musician. Solo projects, collaborations, or working as a bandleader of a septet under her own name, nothing can stop Eve Beuvens.
Before falling in love with singing, François Vaiana started music by playing bass and percussion. A former student of David Linx’s at the Koninklijk Conservatorium van Brussel, he also studied music at Long Island University in Brooklyn, New York. Being an eclectic musician he founded the “Brussels Vocal Project” and “Blue Monday People”. He also works as a lyricist for Loïs Levan and Tom Bourgeois’ projects.
15:00 > 15:45 PIERRE DE SURGÈRES / TOM BOURGEOIS
Duo keys / saxophone
@ BELvue museum – Pavillon Borgendael
Place des Palais 7, 1000 Brussels
Pianist Pierre de Surgères studied journalism and philosophy before beginning piano lessons with Diederik Wissels, Nathalie Loriers, and Kris Defoort at the Koninklijk Conservatorium Brussel. His stay in New York in 2008 allowed him to further enrich and deepen his style of playing. Throughout his career, he has participated in several contemporary jazz projects and has written soundtrack music for movies. He is now devoted to his trio project.
Originally from Lyon, France, Tom Bourgeois graduated from the Royal Conservatory of Brussels in 2015. He studied jazz saxophone, jazz composition and arranging, allowing him to develop a language between modern jazz and contemporary music. Interested by the blending of artistic disciplines, Tom plays and writes for projects with very different styles (jazz, chanson, experimental music, big band) and regularly writes music for long-feature movies, theater plays, and his own projects.
16:30 > 17:15 ALAIN PIERRE / SYLVAIN DEBAISIEUX
Duo guitar / saxophone
@ Belgian Museum of Freemasonry
Rue de Laeken 73 – 75, 1000 Brussels
For more than ten years, guitarist Alain Pierre has been playing on a 12-string guitar to explore the techniques of “classical guitar”. Founder of the record label “Spinach Pie Records”, he has performed in several groups with varying instrumentation in Europe, Turkey, Morocco, Nigeria, Benin, Congo, India, and Vietnam among others. Alain Pierre is currently teaching at the Royal Conservatory of Brussels and the Conservatory of Huy.
In constant search of new sounds and new means of expression on his instrument, saxophonist Sylvain Debaisieux is a graduate of the Koninklijk Conservatorium Brussel and the New School of Jazz and Contemporary Music in New York. Sound, flow, energy and rhythm are at the core of his playing. Sylvain Debaisieux is currently developing his art and musical experimentation in various projects.
Check out the rest of the program and more information:
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