Seppe Gebruers

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Seppe Gebruers
Seppe Gebruers recording "Playing with Standards".jpg
Recording Playing with Standards at Kunstencentrum Nona, Mechelen Belgium, 2021
Background information
Birth nameSeppe Gebruers
Born1990 (age 3334)
Wilrijk, Belgium
Origin Antwerp, Belgium.
Genres Improvisation
Microtonality
Jazz
Experimental
OccupationMusician / Composer / Improviser /researcher
Instrument(s) piano, organ, carillon, harmonium
Website Official website

Seppe Gebruers (born May 9, 1990) is a Belgian musician, composer and improvisor. He is also a teacher and researcher at KASK conservatory Ghent. Gebruers plays both solo and in bands. His work ranges from jazz to contemporary classical music.

Contents

Gebruers has, since his first concerts at the age of twelve, gained a reputation as an adventurous and uncompromising musician. Currently, he investigates the possibilities of quartertones in piano, composition and improvisation.

Early life

Gebruers started to play classical piano when he was 8 years old, but soon became interested in jazz. Jef Neve became his teacher and at age 12 he played in Belgium and abroad with his pianotrio (with Jakob Warmenbol and Nathan Wouters). In 2004 he performed at Sportpaleis for Night of the Proms. The same year he won a grant for Young Musical Talent.

At age 17 he shared the stage with Jim Black and Andrew D'Angelo and met musicians such as Kris Defoort, Bill Carrothers, Eric Thielemans, and Jozef Dumoulin.

At the Royal Conservatoire Antwerp he studied both jazz (with Erik Vermeulen) and classical piano (with Levente Kende). [1] Gebruers started his education with a clear vision: "I knew which direction I wanted to go in: I wanted to make contemporary music that sounds intuitive." [2]

While Gebruers often clashed with the traditional ways of the academy, he quickly developed a strong connection with Vermeulen. The latter quickly concluded that 'he had nothing left to teach' and the teacher-student relation soon developed into one of musical sparring partners.

Later life and career

Gebruers was the leader of the large ensemble Ifa y Xango which won the 2011 Jong Jazztalent Gent award and performed at Gent Jazz in 2012.

Their "irreverence, brought about by a sense of quasi-naïve frankness, would become the group's and Gebruers' trademark". [3]

Their first album 'Abraham' was selected by New York City Jazz Record (US) as 'Best Debut Releases 2013'. [4] Their second album 'twice left handed \\ shavings' (2015) experiments with electronic music. Here Gebruers plays with electronic instruments and live sound processing. [5]

In these years, Gebruers also collaborated closely with his teacher Erik Vermeulen. They formed a piano duo and in 2013 they released their album 'Antiduo'. Later, the duo became a quartet with drummers Marek Patrman and Eric Thielemans, resulting in the album 'Rorschach' (2019). [6]

About Gebruers' performance in 'Antiduo', the press wrote:

"Mean, against the grain, and unhindered by standard musical practice, Gebruers develops an unfettered entity, which is not in the least bit concerned about what is allowed or taboo, or the way things are supposed to be." [1]

In 2013 Gebruers' group Bambi Pang Pang (with Viktor Perdieus (saxophone) and Laurens Smet (double bass)) played at Jazz Middelheim with the legendary American drummer Andrew Cyrille. This collaboration led to another album 'Drop your plans' (2015).

At the heart of this album lies an exploratory spirit that combines the lyrical with the abstract, and the sensitive and intuitive with the rational. A warm, intimate and generous statement that first and foremost believes in the lasting power of human interaction, the subtle variations in the breaks and the fragments and the story that they might tell." Guy Peters

In 2013 Gebruers co-founded the musical collective Troika, of which he is the artistic director. Troika is an organization that regards improvisation as a means to make music rather than as a genre. With this idea in mind Troika organizes concerts, produces albums and conducts interviews.

Gebruers also forms a duo with the composer and visual artist Charlemagne Palestine. [7] Together, they play four differently tuned piano's. In 2018, Gebruers' played a piece composed by Charlemagne for the carillon in the Cathedral of Our Lady in Antwerp. [8]

Other collaborations include Evan Parker, Paul Lytton, Robin Verheyen and Nate Wooley.

Microtonality

Seppe Gebruer 'Playing with standards'.jpg

Currently, Gebruers' major project is the exploration of microtonality. For this, he plays and improvises with two pianos tuned a quarter-tone apart.

In 2019 he started a research project at the Royal Conservatory of Ghent, titled 'Unexplored possibilities of contemporary improvisation and the influence of microtonality in the creation process'. Gebruers:

tuning the pianos a quartertone apart, I play with our collective artificial habit: the equal temperament. Since J.S. Bach's Das wohltemporierte Klavier, the custom in Europe is to have twelve equal semitones in one octave; a uniform system of tuning that still dominates Western music. Adding quartertones, one octave is divided into twenty-four equal intervals, multiplying the harmonic possibilities. Thus, our playmate – tonality – who had become a self-evident tool, is brought to the fore. I do this both to question the tradition and out of love for it. [9]

in "the choice to play each keyboard with only one hand ... the possibilities of microtonality reach their full disorienting potential. Placing two differently tuned pianos next to or across one another makes playing "right" and "off-key" lose all their meanings, and allows the music to unfold in all its kaleidoscopic glory" (Koen van Meel)

With two pianos tuned a quarter tone apart Gebruers recorded 'The Room: Time & Space' (2018) in a trio formation with drummer Paul Lovens and bassist Hugo Anthunes.

In his solo project 'Playing with standards' (album release January 2023), Gebruers plays with famous songs including jazz standards. With Paul Lytton and Nils Vermeulen he forms a 'Playing with standards' trio.


Artistic vision

Esthetics

"My music is not that much 'beautiful', but it is personal. I have often thought about the way communication flows between musician and audience, and what it is that goes wrong so often. The best scenario would be an audience that more or less 'undergoes' the music, like a dream or a nightmare, which the audience dares to go along with you, into the depth. But often it fails because of the social aspect. Because of celebrity. Take, for instance, The Beatles. Fans thought the concert was a dazzling success before it even began." "Beauty is recognisability and recognisability is very important for people. In western society everyone is prone to the will to understand. We don't go to school to 'undergo' something, but to understand something." "I love hearing the lack of control of a musician that you cross limits and lose track of time and space. And that's how I lose control over my facial expressions."

"I do try to be in command of the two of them: control and the lack of it. That way I can return to my comfort zone when I need to. You can easily see when I play collectedly. Then I sit straight like a classical pianist."

Translated from a dutch interview with Seppe Gebruers:

Interview met Seppe Gebruers over Antiduo, door Koen Van Meel, Kwadratuur: Seppe Gebruers (Antiduo, Ifa y Xango), Met "nieuw" ben ik niet bezig, met het onverwachte wel, Door Koen Van Meel | Toegevoegd op 1 januari 2014 [2]

Playing with two pianos

"Adding quarter tones gives a greater diversity of emotional charge in harmony and melody," says Seppe. "As pianists, we often think in black and white. Now you suddenly start thinking in between." "Music should not be understood, music should be experienced. There is no such thing as difficult music. This is not difficult music. It may wring, but that wringing or that tension is also an experience, those are also emotions that can be addressed. My research is successful if people take more time to start experiencing music again."

From an interview by Olav Grondelaers in his radioprogram 'Music Matters' made for the Belgian radio station radio klara broadcast by the VRT. [10] Later also published by Troika's Youtube channel with English subtitles. [11]

Compositions

Gebruers created music for films: Het zwijgen van elena (2012), [12] The Reconstruction (2016), [13] and Etangs Noirs (2018) [14] and for several theatre pieces by Tibaldus].

Awards

As a teenager:

Discography

Year recordedYear releasedTitleLabelNotes
20122012 Abraham [20] Ifa y Xango
2010-20122013Antiduo [21] el negocito records Duo, with Erik Vermeulen (piano)
20142015Drop your plans [22] el negocito records Bambi pang pang (with Viktor Perdieus and Laurens Smet) feat. Andrew Cyrille
20142015Twice left handed // Shavings [23] el negocito records Ifa y Xango (tentet)
20152016Rub [24] el negocito records Nest
20172018Live at ljublijana [25] Multikulti Project Trio, with Luís Vicente (trumpet) and Onno Govaert (drums)
20152016The Room: Time & Space [26] el negocito records, Poo Torch, and Troika vzw Trio, with Hugo Antunes (bass), Paul Lovens (drums)
20162017Rorschach [27] el negocito records Quartet, with Erik Vermeulen (piano), Marek Patrman (drums), Eric Thielemans (drums)
20222022A Room With No Name [28] Fundacja Słuchaj Trio with Luís Vicente (trumpet) and Onno Govaert (drums)
20172022Harmoniums [29] Aspen Edities Duo, with Thijs Troch (harmonium)
20212023Playing with Standards 1, 2 and 3 [30] el negocito records Solo, with two pianos tuned a quartertone apart

Related Research Articles

Microtonality is the use in music of microtones — intervals smaller than a semitone, also called "microintervals". It may also be extended to include any music using intervals not found in the customary Western tuning of twelve equal intervals per octave. In other words, a microtone may be thought of as a note that falls "between the keys" of a piano tuned in equal temperament.

Improvisation, often shortened to improv, is the activity of making or doing something not planned beforehand, using whatever can be found. The origin of the word itself is in the Latin "improvisus", which literally means un-foreseen. Improvisation in the performing arts is a very spontaneous performance without specific or scripted preparation. The skills of improvisation can apply to many different faculties across all artistic, scientific, physical, cognitive, academic, and non-academic disciplines; see Applied improvisation.

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References

  1. 1 2 "Biography of Seppe Gebruers". AllAboutJazz.com. All About Jazz & Jazz Near You. 7 February 2023. Retrieved 7 February 2023.
  2. 1 2 "Seppe Gebruers (Antiduo, Ifa y Xango)". Kwadratuur (in Dutch). 1 January 2014. Retrieved 19 July 2023.
  3. "Ifa Y Xango wint Jong Jazz Talent in Gent". muziekcentrum.kunsten.be (in Dutch). Kunstenpunt - Een fusie van Muziekcentrum Vlaanderen, VTi en BAM. Retrieved 18 July 2011.
  4. "THE NEW YORK CITY JAZZ RECORD" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 March 2016. Retrieved 19 July 2023.
  5. "Ifa y Xango Tentet: vier concerten en een lp | Gonzo (circus) | Muziek.Kunst.Meer". 24 September 2015. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 19 July 2023.
  6. "Rorschach". jazzmusicarchives.com. jazzmusicarchives.
  7. "Charlemagne Palestine & Seppe Gebruers / Holsen & Cassiers / Hans Beckers".
  8. "(From) Bach to the Future". 24 April 2018.
  9. "Seppe Gebruers - Playing with Standards".
  10. "Seppe Gebruers verkent microtonale muziek: "Als pianisten denken we vaak in zwart en wit. Met kwarttonen ga je daar plots tussen denken."". Klara (in Dutch). Retrieved 3 October 2023.
  11. Troika vzw (28 September 2023), An interview with Seppe Gebruers (VRT) - English subtitles
  12. "Het zwijgen van Helena". IMDb .
  13. "De Reconstructie". IMDb .
  14. "Étangs Noirs". IMDb .
  15. "SABAM Jazz Awards voor Bart Maris, Seppe Gebruers en Jos L. Knaepen". 11 July 2014.
  16. https://web.archive.org/web/20160302082223/http://www.nycjazzrecord.com/tnycjr201401-bestofspread.pdf
  17. "Flanders Arts Institute | Music | Ifa y Xango wint Jong Jazz Talent in Gent".
  18. "Succesvolle My First Night". 18 May 2004.
  19. "Kunstenpunt | Muziek | Diverse uitvoerders: Music Live 2004".
  20. "Abraham, by Ifa y Xango". Ifa y Xango. Retrieved 19 July 2023.
  21. "el NEGOCITO Records Releases: s/t by Antiduo". elnegocitorecords.com. Retrieved 19 July 2023.
  22. "el NEGOCITO Records Releases: Drop Your Plans by Bambi Pang Pang featuring Andrew Cyrille". elnegocitorecords.com. Retrieved 19 July 2023.
  23. "twice left handed \\ shavings, by Ifa y Xango Tentet". el NEGOCITO Records. Retrieved 19 July 2023.
  24. "Rub, by NEST". el NEGOCITO Records. Retrieved 19 July 2023.
  25. "Live at Ljubljana, by Luís Vicente – Seppe Gebruers – Onno Govaert". Multikulti Project. Retrieved 19 July 2023.
  26. "The Room: Time & Space". troikavzw.com. Retrieved 19 July 2023.
  27. "Rorschach". troikavzw.com. Retrieved 19 July 2023.
  28. "Room With No Name, by Luis Vicente / Seppe Gebruers / Onno Govaert". Fundacja Słuchaj. Retrieved 19 July 2023.
  29. Dhoore, Koen. "Aspenedities | harmoniums". aspenedities.com. Retrieved 19 July 2023.
  30. "el NEGOCITO Records Releases: ... by ..." www.elnegocitorecords.com. Retrieved 19 July 2023.

Further reading

  1. Review by Raul Da Gama 'Seppe Gebruers: Playing with Standards'
  2. 'Microtonal piano chart hits meet portentous percussion and electronics in the magnificent Belgian city of Gent' byMartin Longley, jazzwise.
  3. Seppe Gebruers explores microtonal music: "As pianists, we often think in black and white. With quarter-tones you suddenly start thinking in between." ,(dutch), klara.