Jazz & Classical

Django Reinhardt with two working fingers, Toots Thielemans' harmonica, the Belgian jazz clubs and big bands, the orchestras and conservatoires, and Adolphe Sax of Dinant, who in 1846 patented the saxophone.

Part of The Belgian Sound

25 moments in this segment.

1. 1846 - Adolphe Sax - the Belgian who invented the saxophone. Adolphe Sax of Dinant patented the saxophone in 1846.
2. 1888 - César Franck - the Belgian Romantic. César Franck of Liège, a giant of late-Romantic composition.
3. 1923-01-01 - Eugène Ysaÿe - the violin virtuoso. Eugène Ysaÿe of Liège, the legendary violinist-composer.
4. 1937-03-03 - The gypsy-jazz roots. The Belgian gypsy-jazz tradition around Django Reinhardt's legacy.
5. 1962-04-04 - Toots Thielemans - "Bluesette". Toots Thielemans, the Brussels harmonica and whistling legend.
6. 1970-01-01 - Toots Thielemans with Quincy Jones. Toots's collaborations that carried Belgian jazz worldwide.
7. 1976 - Philip Catherine - jazz guitar. Philip Catherine, the celebrated Belgian jazz guitarist (1976).
8. 1998-02-02 - Toots Thielemans - "Old Friend". Toots in his elder-statesman years.
9. 2001 - Buscemi - Belgian nu-jazz/electronica. Dirk Swartenbroekx (Buscemi) carried a Latin/nu-jazz-tinged electronica from Belgium into the 2000s.
10. 2005 - Toots Thielemans - the harmonica master. Toots, who played with Quincy Jones and on countless film scores (2005).
11. 2009 - Toots Thielemans - Bluesette. Toots Thielemans, the Belgian harmonica master, playing his standard 'Bluesette' (2009).
12. 2010-08-08 - Jef Neve - Belgian jazz piano. Jef Neve, a leading contemporary Belgian jazz pianist.
13. 2012 - Aka Moon - Brussels jazz trio. Aka Moon, the influential Belgian contemporary-jazz trio (2012).
14. 2013-02-02 - Mélanie De Biasio - "No Deal". Mélanie De Biasio's breakthrough jazz-noir album.
15. 2014-04-04 - The saxophone - Adolphe Sax's legacy. How Adolphe Sax's invention conquered jazz and beyond.
16. 2015-03-03 - Ictus Ensemble - Belgian contemporary classical. Ictus, the Brussels contemporary-music ensemble.
17. 2015-09-09 - Mélanie De Biasio - dark jazz. Mélanie De Biasio, the Charleroi jazz-noir voice.
18. 2016-04-04 - STUFF. - Belgian nu-jazz. STUFF., the Brussels genre-blending nu-jazz collective.
19. 2016-05-05 - Stéphane Galland - Belgian jazz drums. Stéphane Galland, the Aka Moon drummer.
20. 2018-05-05 - Commander Spoon / the new Belgian jazz wave. The new wave of Belgian instrumental jazz.
21. 2018-10-10 - Brussels Philharmonic - the classical tradition. The Brussels Philharmonic, carrying Belgium's orchestral heritage.
22. 2019-06-06 - B.O.X - Baroque Orchestration X. Baroque Orchestration X, reviving early music in Flanders.
23. 2019-06-06 - Black Flower - Ethio-jazz from Belgium. Black Flower, the Belgian Ethio-jazz band.
24. 2021 - TaxiWars / Flemish jazz-rock. The crossover of Belgian jazz into rock energy (2021).
25. 2025 - The Queen Elisabeth Competition. Brussels' Queen Elisabeth Competition, a top classical contest (2025).