Artists

He didn’t decide to become musically active until he was studying economics in Leuven. He initially started playing percussion instruments such as conga drum, but the drum set would follow shortly. When he moved to Liège later on, he came into contact with tuba player Michel Massot and saxophonist Fabrizio Cassol.

They were some of the few to take the first jazz seminars at the Conservatory of Liège. Not much later they decided to start Trio Brava together, the predecessor of the later Trio Grande. In the same period he was also awarded a scholarship to study in Woodstock at the creative music school of Karl Berger. Here he got to know Trilok Gurtu, who taught him complex Indian rhythms.

Via Abdullah Ibrahim, Nana Vasconcellos and Ed Blackwell he was also introduced to the world of Afro-Latin music. He subsequently injected these influences into Trio Grande and the completely bonkers Rêve d'Eléphant Orchestra, two of the most unique ensembles on the Belgian jazz scene.