John Scofield, sometimes referred to as "Sco", is an American guitarist and composer whose music over a long career has blended jazz, jazz fusion, funk, blues, soul and rock. He first came to mainstream attention in the band of Miles Davis, and has toured and recorded with many prominent jazz artists, including saxophonists Eddie Harris, Dave Liebman, Joe Henderson, and Joe Lovano; keyboardists George Duke, Joey DeFrancesco, Herbie Hancock, Larry Goldings, and Robert Glasper; fellow guitarists Pat Metheny, John Abercrombie, Pat Martino, and Bill Frisell; bassists Marc Johnson and Jaco Pastorius; and drummer Billy Cobham. Outside the world of jazz, he has collaborated with Phil Lesh, Mavis Staples, John Mayer, Medeski Martin & Wood, and Gov’t Mule.
Fabrizio Cassol is a Belgian saxophonist and the first user of the aulochrome.
Octurn is a Belgian polyrhythmic jazz ensemble led by Bo Van Der Werf. Its lineup as well as the composers are changed for every album. They always play with at least 3 saxophones and from 2002 they have been playing with two basses and two drummers.
Michel Massot is a Belgian tuba and trombone jazz musician. He studied at Conservatoire de Liège. He founded Trio Bravo with saxophonist Fabrizio Cassol and drummer Michel Debrulle in the middle of the 1980s. The band became Trio Grande in 1993 after the departure of Fabrizio Cassol, who was replaced by French saxophonist Laurent Dehors. Beside this, he also played with various musicians such as Garrett List, Henri Pousseur, Michel Hatzigeorgiou, Kris Defoort, Evan Parker and Kenny Wheeler.
Kris Defoort is a Belgian avant-garde jazz pianist and composer. He was born on 30 November 1959 in Bruges. He also teaches at the Brussels conservatory. His brother is Bart Defoort.
Erik Vermeulen is a Belgian jazz pianist. He entered the Belgian jazz scene when he was 22 with his trio. At the time, it featured Heyn Van de Geyn on bass and Dré Pallemaerts on drums. Soon after that, he started performing with different jazz bands and musicians including the Frank Vaganée Quartet, Erwin Vann Quartet and Peter Hertmans.
Philippe Aerts is a Belgian jazz double bassist. He taught himself guitar and electric bass guitar when he was 11 and started playing the double bass at age 14. He is a member of Philip Catherine trio and the Ivan Paduart trio. He also has his own trio with John Ruocco and Tony Levin (drums) and quartet with Bert Joris (trumpet). He won the Belgian Golden Django in 2002 for best Belgian artist.
De Werf was an arts center and jazz record label (W.E.R.F.) in Bruges, Belgium. In 2002, the label released an eleven-CD box set titled The Finest of Belgian Jazz, with music by Greetings from Mercury, Aka Moon, Brussels Jazz Orchestra, and Kris Defoort. Rik Bevernage, De Werf's main collaborator, received an award at the 2002 Golden Django ceremony.
Chris Joris is a Belgian jazz percussionist, pianist and composer. He is the son of Jan Joris, an opera singer. Joris joined Aksak Maboul in 1977, appeared on their first album but left the group later that year. In the mid 1990s, he formed The Chris Joris Experience, a jazz band with Sam Versweyveld (trumpet), Bart Defoort (saxophone), Ernst Vranckx (piano) and Chris Mentens. He won the 1998 Belgian Golden Django for best Flemish artist.
Variations on A Love Supreme is a jazz album composed by Fabrizio Cassol and Kris Defoort. It contains variations on A Love Supreme, the classic jazz album by the John Coltrane quartet. It was released in 1995 on the De Werf label, and is representative of the Belgian jazz scene.
Brussels Jazz Orchestra is a Belgian jazz orchestra with big band line up founded in 1993 by saxophonist and composer Frank Vaganée, Serge Plume, Marc Godfroid and Bo van der Werf. Since 1999 the orchestra is supported by the Flemish government.
Nicolas Kummert is a Belgian jazz singer and tenor saxophonist.
Sketches of Belgium is a 1993 album by jazz band K. D.'s Basement Party led by Kris Defoort. It is the first release of De Werf label, and the only release by K. D.'s Basement Party. The three musicians from Aka Moon play on the album. It was recorded on September 7, 8, 9, 30 and October 1 and 2 in 1992.
Michael Magalon is a Belgian jazz bassist, guitarist, and composer.
Shinobu Ito / 伊東忍 is a Japanese jazz and fusion guitarist. He has lived in New York City since 1977. He played mainstream jazz, but later broadened his jazz guitar style without sticking strictly to jazz.
Marc Demuth is a Luxembourg jazz musician who has founded different jazz bands. He is also a composer and he plays double bass and electric bass.
The history of jazz in Belgium starts with the Dinant instrument maker Adolphe Sax, whose saxophone became part of military bands in New Orleans around 1900 and would develop into the jazz instrument par excellence. From then on the early history of jazz in Belgium virtually runs parallel to developments in the country of the birth of jazz, from the minstrel shows in the late 19th century until the first Belgian jazz album in 1927 and beyond.
Salva (Salvador) Sanchis is a Spanish dancer, choreographer and dance teacher.
Alexi Tuomarila is a Finnish jazz pianist and composer..
