Celebrate the unique momentum in the Flemish and Belgian jazz scene, together with Gent Jazz Festival and Jazz Middelheim!
15 and 35, these are the magic numbers for which Gent Jazz Festival (15th edition) and Jazz Middelheim (35th edition) are crossing the pond to New York, the cradle of all things jazz. The move will not only be made to celebrate their anniversary, but also to do what they have been doing passionately for years: support and draw attention to Belgian jazz!
It will be an amazing evening musically tinged in the Belgian tricolor at Le Poisson Rouge, one of the Big Apple’s leading clubs. Performing for your listening pleasure are: the Carate Urio Orchestra led by Joachim Badenhorst, Jozef Dumoulin & The Red Hill Orchestra, the Robin Verheyen NY Quartet and Teun Verbruggen’s Bureau of Atomic Tourism (BOAT). Belgian jazz of international acclaim!
What’s more, a sneak preview will also be given of Jazz.be, an online platform that will function as a standard of quality, unifying the vibrant Belgian jazz scene in a strong community. And for the occasion we will be spoiling attendant partners and guests with Belgian culinary specialties by top chef Viki Geunes.
Naturally, native New Yorkers are more than welcome during the evening to come acquaint themselves with this Belgian-led sample of musical cross-pollination. An evening of music not to be missed!
Jazz.Be official site
Ticketing Policy
TABLE SEATING POLICY
Table seating for all seated shows is reserved exclusively for ticket holders who purchase “Table Seating” tickets. By purchasing a “Table Seating” ticket you agree to also purchase a minimum of two food and/or beverage items per person. Table seating is first come, first seated. Please arrive early for the best choice of available seats. Seating begins when doors open. Tables are communal so you may be seated with other patrons. We do not take table reservations.
A standing room area is available by the bar for all guests who purchase “Standing Room” tickets. Food and beverage can be purchased at the bar but there is no minimum purchase required in this area.
All tickets sales are final. No refund or credits.
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Carate Urio Orchestra
Joachim Badenhorst (reeds, vocals), Sam Kulik (trombone, guitar, vocals), Eiríkur Orri Ólafsson (trumpet, electronics), Frantz Loriot (violin, effects), Nico Roig (guitar, vocals), Brice Soniano (double bass, vocals), Pascal Niggenkemper (double bass), Sean Carpio (drums, guitar, vocals)
Saxophonist and clarinettist Joachim Badenhorst is one of those Belgians who on their own merits have built up an impressive international network. With the Carate Urio Orchestra he performs music that should find its audience far outside jazz, improvisation and experimental music. In the case of Badenhorst and his motley international crew, that means instrumental control, devised ensemble, free improvisation and an intensity not inferior to the better post-rock work.
Carate Urio Orchestra official site
Jozef Dumoulin & The Red Hill Orchestra
Jozef Dumoulin (Fender Rhodes), Ellery Eskelin (tenor saxophone), Dan Weiss (drums)
‘One of the most inventive pioneers in his genre’, ‘piano wizard’ or ‘keyboard magician’; these are but a few of the many superlatives heaped upon Jozef Dumoulin in the course of his career. Dumoulin dreams about music and makes music about dreams, and the same goes for his Red Hill Orchestra. The result is a vast sound poetry that both surprises and fascinates.
Jozef Dumoulin official site
Robin Verheyen NY Quartet
Robin Verheyen (soprano and tenor saxophone), Russ Johnson (trumpet), Drew Gress (contrabass), Jeff Davis (drums)
Saxophonist Robin Verheyen caused a furore in Belgium at a young age with his style of playing, and in 2005 decided to move to New York, where he’s lived and worked ever since. With his NY Quartet, Verheyen bridges the gap between the tradition of blues, bob and swing, and provides a sample card of his skills; wild and fiery on soprano sax, contemplative like a painter on the tenor.
Robin Verheyen official site
The Bureau of Atomic Tourism (B.O.A.T.)
Teun Verbruggen (drums), Tim Dahl (bass), Jozef Dumoulin (Fender Rhodes), Nate Wooley (trumpet), Jon Irabagon (saxophone), Hilmar Jensson (guitar)
Teun Verbruggen is perhaps the hardest working man on the Belgian jazz scene, and is active in a number of divergent projects. In New York he is appearing together with The Bureau of Atomic Tourism, or B.O.A.T. for short. The sextet delves headfirst into abstract free improvisation that abandons all conventional takes on musical notions such as melody, harmony and rhythm at one point, you witness them raging like a well-oiled outfit with years of experience the next. The unpredictable improvisation may sound like an abstract sound poem, but this switches quickly to dazzling freak-outs in the New York avant-garde tradition.
The Bureau of Atomic Tourism official site