Home » Member Page

Les Lundis d'Hortense

Les Lundis d'Hortense is a non-profit organisation set up to promote Belgian Jazz

About Me

Les Lundis d'Hortense asbl is an association of jazz musicians. Its main purpose is to promote the Belgian jazz scene and its musicians. It has now been nearly 40 years since Les Lundis d'Hortense have spared no effort in achieving its objective.

Les Lundis d'Hortense organizes numerous concerts. From October to May, it coordinates 9 tours for bands which every year are carefully selected in collaboration with 20 jazz clubs and cultural centers in Brussels, Wallonia and the north of France. The ”Jazz Tour” highlights the richness and the quality of a growing Belgian jazz scene. Two of these tours extend to the whole of Belgium thanks to the collaboration with “JazzLab series”, a Dutch-speaking association which organizes similar tours in Flanders. Consequently one French-speaking band and one Dutch-speaking band benefits from a nationwide promotion. In parallel with this, the “Gare au Jazz” concerts are organized every Wednesday evening for a Belgian jazz band at the “Jazz Station”, a jazz club in Brussels where the acoustics are good and the audience attentive. The “Midis Jazz” series of concerts offer solo or duet performances once a month during lunchtime in order for those who wish to escape their daily routine for an hour. Les Lundis d'Hortense also participates in the “Brussels Jazz Marathon”, a free event which takes place every year all over the city in May. It is responsible for the closing concerts which are taking place at the Grand-Place of Brussels on the Sunday.

The collaboration with those involved in the jazz scene of the north of the country has intensified these last few years. Les Lundis d'Hortense asbl has taken part in the organization of the “Jazz#Forums” and of a biannual national showcase aimed at Belgian and foreign professionals, the “Belgian Jazz Meeting”.

Since 2012, The UNESCO has officially designated the 30th of April as International Jazz Day. Les Lundis d'Hortense celebrates this event and considers this an opportunity to bring jazz to a wider audience by organizing special events in unusual places in the center of Brussels.

Les Lundis d'Hortense also has an educational aim. The yearly summer course “Jazz au Vert” is a must for advanced musicians or beginners who desire to broaden their musical knowledge of jazz music. The spirit that drives this residential summer course is unique. The students are plunged into the world of jazz and are musically stimulated and enriched on a long term basis. Every year, the presence of almost 140 students confirms the need and the interest for jazz education. The summer course takes place in the verdant surroundings of the cultural center Marcel Hicter-La Marlagne in Wépion close to Namur. In 2015, this will be the 31st “Jazz au Vert”. The course proposes many activities : instrument lessons, collective group playing lessons and harmony lessons as well as masterclasses and African, Brazilian, vocal and rhythm workshops. The most advanced students take part in a Big Band and every night, jam sessions take place in a bar turned into a jazz club for the occasion. The summer course ends with a concert from all students in La Marlagne's concert hall.

All these activities participate in the promotion of jazz in Belgium. Les Lundis d'Hortense also puts a maximum of information over Belgian jazz on its website www.jazzinbelgium.com, a one of a kind multilingual website where nearly everything over Belgian jazzmen, their bands and their discographies can be found. Furthermore this website also lists all jazz concerts in Belgium, all new cd releases, jazz news, small ads, every specialized radio, TV broadcasts and publications, all jazz courses, etc…... Its other website www.leslundisdhortenses.be is dedicated to the specific activities of the association. Every quarter the journal “le Jazz d'Hortense” is published and distributed throughout Belgium. It informs you of the activities from Les Lundis d'Hortense, highlights in each publication a different Belgian jazz musician, presents a jazz venue and lists all new jazz releases of the quarter. It is downloadable on both websites jazzinbelgium.com and leslundisdhortense.be.

Les Lundis d'Hortense also supports jazz by being involved with different institutions such as the Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles, the Sabam and PlayRight.