Eliott Knuets 5tet ft. Aaron Parks + MiXMONK

ELIOTT KNUETS 5TET FT. AARON PARKS

30CC proudly presents Eliott Knuets as young artist in residence at Leuven Jazz 2023! Knuets, still only 19 years old, fulfilled all expectations with his virtuoso and fresh guitar playing during the 2022 edition. Therefore, 30CC decided to give him a carte blanche for this special evening.

Eliott Knuets started to play the guitar at the age of six. Initially drawn to rock music, he soon developed a passion for jazz and took lessons with Peter Hertmans and Bert Cools.

Barely sixteen, he was very fortunate to jam with Wynton Marsalis during his tour in Belgium. Marsalis also invited him to a virtual session at Dizzy’s Club in New York. Afterwards, Eliott was invited to play a live session with the Brussels Jazz Orchestra during Django Follies 2022. Later, he also appeared on the main stage of BOZAR for a concert with his original compositions.

His playing is enriched by the influences of many musicians he listens to and appreciates, such as Pat Metheny, John Scofield, Mike Moreno, Lage Lund, Peter Bernstein, Kurt Rosenwinkel, Jesse Van Ruller, Brad Mehldau, Herbie Hancock, Joshua Redman, Wynton Marsalis …

During Leuven Jazz, Eliott Knuets gets the chance to play his compositions with none other than the American pianist Aaron Parks.

For Eliott, it’s a dream come true: “I love his music, his playing, his compositions … It’s a musical universe that completely surrounds me. When I was invited by 30CC as an artist in residence at Leuven Jazz, I thought it was a great opportunity to ask Aaron as a guest musician."

Aaron Parks

Pianist and composer Aaron Parks made a big impression at the age of 25 with Invisible Cinema (2008), his debut album on Blue Note (after three releases on this legendary label with trumpeter Terence Blanchard). The BBC named it one of the best albums of the year and JazzTimes hailed him as ‘A New Visionary’.

His band Little Big could in some ways be seen as a continuation of the trajectory set by Invisible Cinema, with a deeper commitment to melodic songwriting, modern rhythms and immersive storytelling. The musicians bring experience not only from jazz but also from electronica, alternative pop and country.

Aaron Parks has performed and recorded with Kurt Rosenwinkel, Dhafer Youssef, Terri Lyne Carrington, Ambrose Akinmusire, Gretchen Parlato, Kendrick Scott and Marcus Miller, among others. He scored highly with two albums on ECM: a solo piano album and a trio album with Billy Hart and Ben Street. He is also a founding member of James Farm, the band that includes Joshua Redman, Matt Penman and Eric Harland.

Aaron Parks was also a guest at Leuven Jazz in 2015 with his quartet of the same name.

Knuets and Parks are surrounded by a super rhythm section consisting of Basile Rahola on double bass and Antoine Pierre on drums.

MIXMONK

MiXMONK: three 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 international 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-pianist’s music by sticking to its letter. Instead, Baron, de Looze and Verheyen honour its idiosyncratic spirit through the playfulness and creativity of their all-over conversational approach. Trying to make Monk’s music sound mainstream is the last of their goals and adding obvious Monk-isms to their own far more lyrical pieces the least of their concern.

Initially commissioned by BOZAR in Brussels as a feature for Monk’s Centennial Birthday Celebration, the trio never looked back since the sold-out première in October 2017. After several successful European tours, we can finally welcome them at Leuven Jazz!

AFTERSHOW: TEIS SEMEY & SANEM KALFA

Danish Teis Semey and Turkish Sanem Kalfa are two acknowledged improvisers in the Dutch jazz scene. In this duo, they reveal another side of their musicality, drawing inspiration from Scandinavian and Turkish folk music, jazz avant-garde and soft dream pop.

You might know Sanem Kalfa from her work with George Dumitriu and Joachim Badenhorst, but she also has an extensive catalogue of solo pieces. Her mastery of not only her voice but “tinges and timing, blossoming and flow, vibe and touch, fly and linger” (AllAboutJazz), makes her an interesting fit with Teis Semey.

Guitarist Teis Semey is younger and is just beginning to take to the European central stage. As a JazzAhead Showcase artist, with three albums and performances in venues like Bimhuis and North Sea Jazz Festival, he is certainly not shy to make a stamp. This “rising star” (NRC) “grabs you by the shoulders and screams a story into your face, but, a story with depth and nuance” (Jazzism).

The duo of Sanem Kalfa and Teis Semey, thus, is something special that we don’t get that often: two world-class musicians who team up as a special treat for those lucky enough to be in the audience at that moment. In this concert, the duo will perform a blend of Turkish music, Danish folk music, songs and improvisation.

Timetable

• 19.15 h: doors
• 20.00 - 21.00 h: MiXMONK
• 30' pause
• 21.30 - 22.40 h: Eliott Knuets ft. Aaron Parks
• 22.45 - 23.30 h: aftershow of Sanem Kalfa and Teis Semey

More info

Eliott Knuets 4tet: Eliott Knuets (guitar), Antoine Pierre (drums), Basile Rahola (double bass) and Aaron Parks (piano)
MiXMONK: Bram De Looze (piano), Robin Verheyen (saxophone) and Joey Baron (drums)