An international Jazz Club…

The Music Village is located in the historic heart of Brussels, only a few steps away from the famous Grand-Place.The Club opened on September 1st 2000. Two 17th-century houses were saved from ruins and entirely renovated. After 1839, they hosted a well-known hardware store called “La Bêche d’Or”.

Today they offer an exceptional and beautiful setting for the organisation of concerts.

In terms of artistic quality, interior design, comfort, acoustics, lighting, reception, bar and catering, the Club can easily stand the comparison with the best international Jazz clubs of New-York or London.

The Music Village was very quickly adopted by both French and Dutch-speaking inhabitants and by the large international community which makes Brussels an extraordinary cosmopolitan crossroads.

Even after Paul Huygens passed, the Music Village continues its activities thanks to Lucie Saeys (his wife) and Romain (one of his sons) who is the director and scheduler. The VILLAGE is one of the few musical places which survives mainly on its own resources (90%). The remaining 10% are supported by the FEDERATION WALLONIE-BRUXELLES and the COCOF. The Village is, therefore, officially recognized as a major cultural venue.

Far from being restricted to an audience of connoisseurs, the music programming definitely stands up for “Eternal Jazz”, both “music for pleasure” and major musical Art.

One of the Village’s special features is to be open continuously, and to programme live concerts all year long.

In addition to Jazz, the Village welcomes other kinds of music that share passion for improvisation, rhythms, and permanent creation such as Afro-Cuban music, Brazilian music, blues, folk, R&B,chanson…

Events developed and organised by the Music Village

In 2003, the Music Village created an international jazz singers contest. Since then this contest has promoted young female and male jazz singers from all over the world and has been given support by the Brussels Region and the Ancienne Belgique.

The Brussels International Young Jazz Singers Contest (Voices Now) is one of the few contests of the kind that gathers 60 young talents for semi-final concerts during a whole week.The last edition took place in December 2008.

In 2007, the Music Village set up a European Jazz Festival to celebrate the 50th birthday of the European Union foundation and the signature of the Treaty of Rome.

“Jazz in Europe Now” brought together some of the best European jazzmen during great concerts which were offered by the Brussels Region and performed in 4 different concert halls in Brussels.

YOUNG JAZZ

Since 2005, the Music Village has welcomed young jazzmen on the occasion of Young Jazz concerts every Wednesdays. More than 250 bands have thus been able to perform on the Village’s stage.

Some figures…

In summer 2013, the Club counted more than 6000 regular members

Since its opening in 2000, more than 3500 live concerts have been performed, gathering 200 000 spectators.

And indeed some « locals »… Belgian Jazz being a wonderful and constantly renewed reservoir of talents…

Find here a – very short and necessarily subjective - selection of them, photographed by Michel Binstok for some of them…

Rhoda Scott, Monty Alexander, Peter King, Deborah Brown, Lee Konitz, Benny Bailey, Larry Corryel, Jacky Terrasson, Bobo Stenson, Rick Marghitza, Marc Murphy, Norma Winstone, Sheila Jordan, Bob Mintzer, Stéphane Belmondo, Don Friedman, Kenny Werner, Dave Pike, Steve Swallow, Billy Hart, Jeff Twain Watts, Aldo Romano,…

And indeed some « locals »… Belgian Jazz being a wonderful and constantly renewed reservoir of talents…  Philippe Catherine,  David Linx, Michel Herr, Gino Latucca, Nathalie Loriers, Ivan Paduart, Richard, Rousselet, Guy Cabay, Jean-Louis Rassenfosse, Charles Loos, Steve Houben, Roby Lakatos, Frank Vaganée, Phil Abraham, Bert Joris, Alexandre Cavaliere, Diderik Wissels, Jef Neve, Paolo Radoni, Jacques Pirotton, Sal la Rocca, Roger Van Haverbeke, Bart Denolf, Bruno Castellucci, Félix Simtaine, Nick Thys, Philippe Aerts, Chris Joris, Aka Moon,..