a conversation with Bram De Looze | Brussels Jazz Festival 2025

He is one of the most inventive Belgian jazz pianists of the last decade. His creative treatment of tradition makes every performance a unique experience. This year, Bram De Looze is artist in residence at Flagey and will choose three projects during the Brussels Jazz Festival 2025.

You started playing the piano at a very early age and immediately made an impression at the Knokke-Heist Academy of Fine Arts. What inspired you to start playing music? And when did you discover your passion for jazz?

My father is a musician and bought me a little keyboard when I was six. I started playing tunes straight away, listening to the radio, and the keyboards got bigger and bigger. As soon as I could, at the age of eight, I went to the music academy in Knokke-Heist. There I took a year of classical music alongside jazz, but I was more attracted to jazz and was already playing standards.

When did you decide to make it your profession?

The summer courses at the Haleweyn Foundation in Dworp gave me a huge boost. For a 15-year-old, spending four weeks with other - previously unknown - musicians does wonders. During my course, we took lessons from Billy Heart, who played with Miles Davis. It was there that a lot of young musicians got the bug. I met a lot of people there who I sometimes see again for individual projects.

Why did you choose the piano? And who inspired you most?

I was most inspired by the musicians behind the instrument. Jazz pianists like Chick Corea, Herbie Hancock, Keith Jarrett, Bill Evans, Oscar Peterson - I could name dozens more. When you listen to music from the jazz tradition, you realise the extent to which each has been inspired by the others. I've spent the last decade trying to trace these mutual influences. Who did this jazz musician play with? Who did he listen to? But I don't dwell on that, because then jazz loses its accessibility to a wider audience. It's just as important to create an open attitude and a flow.

After a shortened three-year course at the Lemmens Institute and a year's Masters at Antwerp Conservatoire, you won a scholarship to go to the New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music in New York. What did you learn there, as close to the source as possible?

I felt the power of the jazz scene. I was taught by Marc Copland, Uri Caine and Reggie Workman, who were still playing with the big names from the early days. I was able to immerse myself completely in the world of jazz. During the day, I played two sessions, and in the evening, I attended concerts where you were almost right next to the musicians. You hear and see their details and attitude so clearly.

One of the things that surprised me was the level of improvisation. It wasn't until I heard musicians live in a jazz club that I realised what incredible music they were playing purely by inventiveness, in the flow of the moment. Not by preparing complete compositions in advance. It's only by observing them up close that you learn that.

Next season, you'll be artist-in-residence at Flagey. This includes a choice of three projects at the Brussels Jazz Festival. Can you tell us about them?

I want to continue working with the jazz trio I created three years ago, with drummer Eric McPhersen and bassist Felix Henkelhausen. We'll be recording our new album live at Studio 1 during the Brussels Jazz Festival. I also plan to collaborate with Joey Baron, Thomas Morgan and Hank Roberts. The third project will be a collaboration with an Australian and a Korean musician.

The jazz trio with Eric McPhersen and Felix Henkelhausen is your first self-composed trio. Why did you choose them? 

With Eric McPhersen, you can tell he's played with a lot of the big names in jazz, but at the same time he's very open-minded and knows how to improvise. Joey Baron, whom I'm inviting for another trio, has the same qualities. Playing with them is almost addictive. It's great to see how they improvise musically and come up with ideas on the spur of the moment. Their ears and imaginations are extremely well trained, in a very special way. They don't limit themselves in any way. It's an incredible experience.

Felix Henkelhausen is open and innovative, like Eric McPhersen. I knew straight away that it would be a good combination. At the same time, he has a huge musical background and is deeply rooted in tradition. And he hears everything. When you suggest something to him musically, he immediately knows what to do.

I met Felix Henkelhausen through the Slovenian drummer Dre Hocevar, who had nothing but praise for him.

How are you preparing for this shoot? And for your other collaborations? Do you work with themes that you improvise around on stage, or is everything written out in advance?

I leave as much as possible to the moment and write as little as possible, because that's when you really use the skills of the musicians. I write a composition where there is a flow, where they feel free and where they can dig in and add something of their own. To do this, I listen to albums where they can be heard. I then find elements in their playing that add something specific and combine them with a melody I've already written.

In each project, I bring out the personality of the musicians, which is why the music always sounds different. I also write as little as possible for my solo projects.

What kind of state of mind is needed to improvise fluently on stage?

For good improvisation, you need to be in good shape, practise all week and listen to enough music. If something triggers you, you feel fresher. That's why we make music. Sometimes I'm inspired by a band I played with the week before. When I play with Jean-Paul Estiévenart, I always learn something.

What about on stage?

You have to allow yourself not to play the composition straight away, but to feel the atmosphere of the day. Am I in good shape or not? What does the piano sound like in this piece? Do I feel connected to this instrument or not at all? The setting is always different, and that has a big influence.

And of course, the link between hands, hearing, imagination and thought has to be perfect. That takes years of practice. The challenge is to hear what the fingers are playing, otherwise you can't improvise and it doesn't sound like music. You start from intuition, but at the same time you have to think. You have to play unconsciously and consciously, and listen to what the music demands. But it's something natural, something that happens and has an impact on the listener.

Keep an eye on our social networks to find out more about Bram De Looze's plans for the Brussels Jazz Festival in 2025. We're already curious!