De Looze/ Machtel/De Waele

https://open.spotify.com/artist/05aD5Qr2Ki247eMXDEqMfX?

The long going trio of those 3 Belgian musicians with an impressive Curriculum Vitae plays jazz standards with the best of taste and a contagious joy!

Bram De Looze - Piano Jos Machtel - Double Bass Matthias De Waele - Drums

Bram De Looze is a Belgian pianist whose distinct musical vision has found its way through both solo piano projects and collaborations with internationally acclaimed musicians. De Looze's unique technical skill and musical maturity have earned him considerable critical praise and respect from his peers, as his music spotlights his far-ranging interests throughout his continuous quest for artistic depth, momentum and freedom. In his teens De Looze made his entrance to the European scene with LABtrio, a collaboration with bassist Anneleen Boehme and drummer Lander Gyselinck. After having spent one year at the New School For Jazz And Contemporary Music in New York, De Looze launched his first international 7-piece band 'Septych' (Clean Feed Records 2015). De Looze plays with internationally renowned musicians such as Joey Baron (MiXMONK – Baron / De Looze / Verheyen), Stéphane Galland (The Mystery of KEM feat. Ravichandra Kulur) and with multiple improvisation ensembles. These collaborations have taken him throughout the world to perform at cultural institutions, music venues and celebrated festivals. Recently De Looze felt the urge for a new collaboration called Vice Versa with two great artists who are natural extensions of his world of sound: New York master drummer Eric McPherson (Jackie Mclean, Andrew Hill, Pharaoh Sanders, Fred Hersch) and Berlin bassist Felix Henkelhausen (Jim Black, Nate Wooley, Lotte Anker). Their debut album Vice Versa (2023) was released on the Dutch label DOX Records. His solo career took off with Piano e Forte (2016), a project for which he approached historical instruments from a contemporary perspective combined with the integration of non-equal tuning systems. His 2nd album, Switch The Stream (2018) indicated a renewed search for movement, evolution and introspection. Infusing the sound with a non-equal tuning stands out even more in his third solo chapter, Colour Talk (2020). It continues this trajectory with a continued attempt to renew from within. In 2024, De Looze released his 4th solo album - with which he will be touring 'Down Under' (Australia/Korea/Japan/New-Zealand/...). And in 2025 a second album with his trio Vice Versa will come out. Jos Machtel started playing trumpet at age 10. He was admitted to the Hilversum Conservatory in 1980 and took lessons with Ack van Rooyen, Ferdinand Povel, Frans Elsen and Jerry van Rooyen. After two years, he switched to the double bass under Prof. Victor Kaihatu, who taught him his special thumb technique. Before long he was asked to work with musicians such as Frans Elsen, Wim Overgauw, Rob Madna, Hein van der Gaag, John Engels and Cees Slinger. In 1985, Jos moved to Madrid to teach at the Taller de Musicos, where he also worked with Dave Schnitter, Perico Sambeat, Jorge Pardo, Pedro Itturalde and others. He went back to the Netherlands in 1987 and became a member of the Rick Hollander quartet, with which he toured all over Europe and made the cd ‘Private Ears’. During that time he also frequently collaborated with guitarist/vocalist Cris Monen as well as the Lost and Wondering Jazzband, of which Madeleine Peyroux was a band member at the time. From 1990, he was part of the Maarten van der Grinten/Benjamin Herman quartet. He recorded 4 cd’s and several more with the Benjamin Herman trio and quartet. In 1992, he moved to Kansas City to work with pianist Bram Wijnands, who had a permanent contract at a local Jazz bar. After two years, he moved back to the Netherlands and took up his life as a freelance musician. He was part of a theatre tour with singer Astrid Seriese as well as some tours with the Glenn Miller Orchestra. He was also a member of the Toon Roos quartet, and was a regular sub in the Metropole Orchestra and Concertgebouw’s Jazz Orchestra, playing projects with Dave Liebman, Jens Winther, Bob Brookmeyer, Rob van Kreeveld etc. In 1999 he was asked by the Brussels Jazz Orchestra to take the bass chair. Since then, he has been a regular member of the orchestra, performing in concerts with for instance Maria Schneider, Kenny Werner, Dave Liebman, Mcoy Tyner, Kenny Wheeler, Phil Woods, Lee Konitz, Tom Harrel, Toots Thielemans, Bert Joris, Philippe Catherine, Wallace Rooney, Richard Galliano, Joe Lovano, The Flemish Philharmonic Orchestra and Brussels Philharmonic. He recorded roughly 10 cd’s with the band. He left the band by the end of 2018. Jos is a jazz bass professor at the Luca School of Arts in Louvain, Belgium. He is/was also a member of the Andrea Pozza European quintet, the Ben van Gelder trio, the Mike del Ferro/Frank Vaganee Group, the Bart Defoort quartet, Floriaan Wempe quartet, The Rebirth Collective, piano trio De Looze/Machtel/De Waele, A.C.T. Collective Wim Leysen, Ariadne & La Belle Équipe , ‘A Tribute to Cole Porter’ with Wilfried Van den Brande, Rembrandt Frerichs trio/kwartet , Niels Tausk kwartet, VDE/Brahm trio. Matthias De Waele was an early music adept. At the age of seven, his grandfather, an accordionist and music enthousiast, encouraged him to enroll at the Academy of Music and Word in Oudenaarde. There he learned solfège and to play the clarinet. Then at the age of 13, he discovered a profound love of the drums. At the age of 18, he enrolled at the University of Ghent and obtained a Master of Science in Criminology. Though criminology was something that he was interested in, it wasn’t his raison d’être. It was then that he decided to dedicate one hundred percent of his time and energy to music. Matthias has had the pleasure of studying with Dré Pallemaerts and Marek Patrman at the Lemmensinstitute (Leuven), Hans Van Oosterhout at CODARTS (Rotterdam), and with Lionel Beuvens at the Royal Conservatory (Brussels). In 2015, Matthias was awarded with the prestigious BAEF fellowship (as a van Itallie fellow), making it possible for him to go and study at The New School For Jazz And Contemporary Music in New York, where he was awarded with the Provost Scholarship. During his period of study at New School he had the opportunity to study with Reggie Workman, Billy Harper, Dan Weiss, Joanne Brackeen, David Gibson, and John Hollenbeck. He is a member of bands such as: Gwen Cresens Quartet, Anemic Cinema, Grand Picture Palace, Roeland Celis’s Celestial Planes, Naos, Don Marsh V, Ode., Rebirth::Collective, Rapidman, Serendip Quartet, et al.