MiXMONK

MiXMONK:
3 virtuoso players mixing up the music of jazz legend Thelonious Monk with original compositions of their own. Crossing borders and generations, the line up of this acoustic trio features high profile American drummer Joey Baron and two rising star artists from Belgium, the duo of pianist Bram De Looze and New York based saxophonist Robin Verheyen. MiXMONK certainly loves to simply play a beautiful Monk ballad but is definitely not a repertory band out to re-create the great composer-pianists music by sticking to its letter. Instead, Baron, de Looze and Verheyen honor its idiosyncratic spirit through the playfulness and creativity of their all-over conversational approach.
Making Monk sound normal is the last of their goals. Initially commissioned by Palais des Beaux Arts in Brussels as a feature for Monk’s Centennial Birthday Celebration, the trio never looked back since the sold out première in October 2017. With two successful European tours, a handful of major festival appearances and several radio broadcastsunder their belt, MiXMONK is now ready for the release of their first eponymous album followed by international touring throughout 2019.

Joey Baron (1955) - One of the all time great and most in demand drummers and percussionists, Baron is widely known for his ground breaking work with the likes of John Zorn (Masada), Dave Douglas and Bill Frissell. In addition, he has covered an incredibely wide ranging musical territory including stints with Toots Thielemans, Al Jarreau, Fred Hersch, Carmen McRae, Joe Lovano, Stan Getz, Dizzy Gillespie, Laurie Anderson, Chet Bakerand even David Bowie who said of him: ‘Metronomes shake from fear, he is so steady. ’ Besides his hectic schedule, Baron maintains the long standing percussion duo with Robyn Schulkowsky recently acclaimed for their extended composition and performances of ‘Now you hear me’. www.drummerworld.com/drummers/Joey_Baron.

Bram De Looze (1991) - Is widely considered by fans and critics alike as the one up and coming European pianist destined for the big time. As a performer, composer and performing artist he has, at not even 30,marked strong points on the international scene with LABtrio, followed by his large ensemble Septych and the much acclaimed and widely toured breakthrough solo performance and recording of‘Piano è Forte’. De Looze is the recipient of Belgium’s Rising Star Jazz Award and worldwide ambassador for the new and much talked about revolutionary Maene upright concert grand piano. www.bramdelooze.be

Robin Verheyen (1983) – A fully accomplished saxophonist and improviser, Verheyen leads several bands of his own, including the stellar quartet with Marc Copland, Drew Gress and Billy Hart as recently heard on ‘When The Birds Leave’. His fan base reaches beyond jazz audiences through his role as co- leader and songwriter for the high - energy band TaxiWars with dEUS Frontman Tom Barman. As a classically trained composer Verheyen has been commissioned to write several genre defying larger works such as The Bach Riddles. In 2018 his career accomplishments deserved him Belgium’s prestigious Sabam Jazz Award. www.robinverheyen.be