Erwin Vann

Saxophonist, Composer, Arranger, Educator, Yoga Teacher

Born in Antwerp, Belgium, in 1963.

Erwin started working as a professional musician in 1985. His first gig was with the Belgian Radio and Television Jazz Orchestra in Brussels. Over the years, he has performed in clubs and at festivals all over Europe and in Africa, Asia, and the Americas. He was fortunate to share the stage and the recording studio with amazing artists such as Toots Thielemans, Joe Lovano, Wayne Shorter, Norma Winstone, Kenny Wheeler, Adama Drame, Billy Hart, Reggie Washington, Paolo Fresu, Michel Benita, Rita Marcotulli, Enzo Carpentieri, Paolo Birro, Marc Ducret, Nguyên Lê, Pete McCann, Lindsey Horner, Pierre Tanguay, Hayden Chisholm, Michel Herr, Jack Van Poll, Heyn Van de Geyn, Félix Simtaine, Bruno Castellucci, Paul Van Kemenade, Eric Van der Westen, Jeroen Van Vliet, Udo Pannekeet, Tony Overwater, Ineke Vandoorn, Marc Van Vugt, Aka Moon, Marco Loccurcio, Peter Hertmans, Fabien Degryse, Erik Vermeulen, Pirly Zurstrassen, and many many others, every one of significant importance in his evolution as a musician.

With drummer Dré Pallemaerts, electric bass player Michel Hatzigeorgiou, and keyboard wizard Jozef Dumoulin, they form “Let’s Call Ed.” They started out as a trio in the late eighties before Jozef joined the band about 15 years later.

As a composer and arranger, Erwin wrote music for big band (The Brussels Jazz Orchestra), hip-hop (Krewcial, DJ Grazzhoppa’s DJ Big Band), soul (Moiano), pop (Lalalover), and for chamber orchestra in a project with the Belgian rock band Venus. From 2002 to 2005, he collaborated with Canadian choreographer David Pressault on several projects, creating electronic music and music for solo saxophone and live electronics. Furthermore, he composed music for film and TV. The documentaries “Traces/Empreintes de femmes” and “En attendant les hommes,” both by Katy Lena Ndiaye (Neon Rouge), received several international awards.

From 1988 to 2012, Erwin has been a member of the faculty at the Conservatories of Ghent, Brussels, Antwerp, and Luxemburg. He has taught many workshops in Belgium and abroad.

In 2009, he decided to turn down the volume of his high-paced life as a performer, composer, and arranger. He started teaching yoga, a discipline he had been practicing since the mid-eighties. Since then, he has only sporadically been performing and recording. Recently (2023), he is playing more regularly again.