20 February 2019
2000 (DE/US/NL/BE) - Jan Klare (saxophones & reeds), Steve Swell (trombone), Elisabeth Coudoux (cello), Wilbert de Joode (double bass),
                            Michael Vatcher (drums), Bart Maris (trumpet)   release tour
BACKBACK (BE/IT) - Filip Wauters (electric/baritone guitar), Marc De Maeseneer (baritone/tenor saxophones) & Giovanni Barcella (drums)   release tour

When Bart Maris, Jan Klare, Wilbert de Joode and Michael Vatcher founded the band 1000 - the predeccesor of this sextett-version - in 2004, they immediately started playing compositions, that were originally not designed as vehicles for improvisation - thus establishing an own distinctive style.
The way the band created structure through improvising, impressed the critics ("consistently interesting quartet that keeps evolving and getting better with each release." Bruce Lee Gallanter, Downtown Music Gallery). Through many years an almost telepathic communication was developed – an intuitive language, that fluently balances texture with energy and subtlety. 2000 deepens this "art" and widens it onto chamber-musical fields including Elisabeth Coudoux on cello and Steve Swell on trombone.

A Belgian based jazz trio. "An unusual line-up" you might think, or "no bass player, isn't that a handicap?" Not so with Backback. Through years of rehearsing, gigging, and recording the trio has forged their own impressive sound and they also seem to have a magic formula that keeps their music fresh, ingenious, yet accessible. Filip Wauters' original compositions are moulded around and bounce off and the band's individual playing styles and explore a whole range of musical styles and influences: jazz, rock, free jazz, funk, the result is uniquely Backback, an established name in the Belgian jazz scene.

7 march 2019: an evening of improvisation from Muzzix Lille
CHRISTIAN PRUVOST - SEIJIRO MURAYAMA (FR/JP) - Christian Pruvost (trumpet), Seijiro Murayama (percussion)
ABDOU / DANG / ORINS (FR) - Sakina Abdou (saxophone), Barbara Dang (piano), Peter Orins (drums)

Fascinated by the alchemy between musical matter, timbre of the instrument, space and time, trumpeter Christian Pruvost from Lille and the Japanese percussionist Seijiro Murayama deliver improvised music consisting of breathing, whispering, voices meet skins with an emotional power without equivalent.

A trio. A saxophone. A piano. A drums. Notes. Noise. Maybe melodies. Repetitive, surely. Hijacked instruments. Pure tones. Returned timbres. Relief, backgrounds. Maybe some foregrounds too. Minimal. But full. It's vegetable, wet, organic. It's suspended, tense, all delicate. Time stops, and passes.
Playing on minimalist modes and an ultra-reduced sound volume, Sakina Abdou, Barbara Dang and Peter Orins explore the timbres and the extended techniques of their instruments, play on the differences in plans and substances, blur the sound image.

these concerts are part of
Breaking The Improvised Border III: Citadelic (Gent - B, citadelic.be) + Muzzix (Lille - Fr, muzzix.info)
dans le cadre de la convention de coopération culturelle entre la Communauté Flamande et la Région Hauts-de-France
in het kader van de culturele samenwerkingsovereenkomst tussen Vlaanderen en Hauts-de-France

4 april 2019
PAK YAN LAU 'BOOK OF TOY' (HK/BE) - Pak Yan Lau (toypianos, electronics and objects)
DE GROOTE - FAES DUO (BE) - Bruno De Groote (electric guitar), Ben Faes (double bass)

Active and fascinating figure of the experimental underground scene of Brussels, the sound artist Pak Yan Lau, exposes a rich, dense and captivating sound universe, documented on her excellent triple solo recording "Books"
At this occasion she will present 'Book of Toy' where the universe of overtones, harmonics and metallic bass sounds of toy pianos (inside and outside) in combination of clockworks and electronics are being exposed.

Belgian instrumental duo De Groote - Faes have a strong live reputation, exploring an ever widening universe of highly personal sounds while using only classical double bass and often raw electric guitar, the atmospheres shift from energetic and wild jazz to delicate intimacy, classic beauty and poetry, echoes of world and ethnic music, into trippy electronic sound manipulation. In the process of creation, the duo lays a heavy focus on composition and arrangement, which leads to a unique and exuberant repertoire, instantly recognisable.

2 may 2019
TOMA GOUBAND 'SINGING STONES' (FR) - Toma Gouband (percussions & singing stones)
ERIK BOGAERTS KWARTET (BE/FR) - Erik Bogaerts (alto saxophone), Jeroen van Herzeele (tenor saxophone), Brice Soniano (double bass), Steven Cassiers (drums)

One doesn't even need to 'enter' into the music of Toma Gouband: our ears and eyes are invited, by the spectacular and extraordinary organisation of colors and timbres that make up his dreaming inventive universe. Pieces of flint, natural skins covering a horizontal bass drum, which has scattered upon it tiny bells or blocks of wood, branches and twigs… pebbles rolled on the ground, inverted cymbals collcting thus all sorts of natural resonators… The high-hat cymbals have been replaced by…they've also been replaced by stones! Animated by an interior pulsation made from the superimposition of mysterious cycles, like so many clocks telling life's time in polyrythms that collide and cross over each other, the music of Toma Gouband transcends the idea of an imaginary territory, for it invites us to approach it as we would a social rite or even a ceremony of love. (Benoît Delbecq)

Erik Bogaerts Kwartet is a playful jazz quartet founded by the alto saxophonist with the same name. Their musical research balances between serene melodies within harmonic structures and energetic expression in groove and improvisation. Interplay between the members is a key factor as well as the guiding rule of pursuit of a joyous and explorative night for the musicians and their audience.

6 June 2019
RUBEN MACHTELINCKX (BE) - Ruben Machtelinckx (guitar, baritone guitar, banjo)

Ruben Machtelinckx is one of Belgium's finest contemporary musicians. In a short period of time he has become a respected composer and guitar player with a very own sound.
"Especially recommended to banjo fans looking for something different, but there's plenty of minimalist atmosphere for people who didn't even know they liked the banjo." **** All About Jazz

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