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Jean-Michel Van Schouwburg

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About Me


NEW CD SUREAU of JMVS/ JEAN DEMEY / KRIS VANDERSTRAETEN Creative Sources CS 112. Recorded Brussels studio Odeon 120 octobre 07.
Jean - Michel Van Schouwburg : Voice, performance,improvised music.
Brussels. Born 1955. Member of Brussels’ Inaudible Collective & Workshops since 1984. Jean-Michel Van Schouwburg develops vocal improvisation and voice extended techniques from low throat singing to high falsetto, overtones and yodels, mouth noises etc.. .Phonoetry (phonesie in french) describes the poesie sonore of his solo voice performance ORYNX (Orynx –Phonésie cd Inaudible 003 sold out and now past). Solos in London, Lille, Slovakia, Liege and Brussels. Interested in telepathic interplay and adapting his sounds with different partners/ groupings. Worked with pianist Guy Strale and percussion poet and graphic artist Kris Vanderstraeten,first as a guitar player(...). Became vocalist gradually since the early 90's. Gingko 4 -JMVS, Guy Strale, flutist Adelheid Sieuw and guitarist Jan-Huib Nas- performed some years. (Freedom of The City 2006 cd Emanem 4139).
Current groups :
SUREAU : J-M V.S. / Jean Demey bass / Kris Vanderstraeten percussion. CD SUREAU out on Creative Sources CS 112. 2007
GARDEN GIFT : Adelheid Sieuw flutes / J-M V.S. voice / John Russell guitar / Jean Demey double bass. Check cd MERCELIS CONCERT : Russell Demey Van Schouwburg on Inaudible 006
Duos with percussionnist Javier Carmona, flutist Adelheid Sieuw, guitarists Pascal Marzan, John Russell or Jan Huib Nas, pianist Marjolaine Charbin, trombonist Paul Hubweber, singer Mara Pigeon, pianist/etceterist Guy Strale,
Performed with Jacques Foschia, Mike Goyvaerts, Lawrence Casserley, Paul Hubweber, Gianni Mimmo, David Leahy, Phil Minton and Ute Wassermann, Marco Loprieno, Jacques Fauville, Jean Coulon, Jose Bedeur, Michaël Delia,Timo Van Luyck, Hugh Metcalfe.... Festivals : Freedom of the City London, Sons Liberes Brussels, Hermes Ear Nitra, La Malterie Lille, Bevrijdt de Muziek Antwerpen, Hard Gaan Hasselt, Hurta Cordel 2008 Madrid with Garden Gift, R de Choc 08 Paris. Benjamin Peret’s Poems Performance with Jacques Foschia‘s radios. Workestra of Inaudible.Since 1999, Inaudible has organized continuously workshops & concerts with Belgian and Foreign improvisers in Brussels.Inaudible members : Strale/JM VS/Nas/Sieuw/Loprieno/ Legros/ Demey etc... JMVS writes on the subject of improvised musics and his "Spontaneous Music Ensemble and John Stevens’Story (1965-1994) was published in french magazine Improjazz. see Blog
..
MySpace/ CD SUREAU
http://viewmorepics.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=viewIma ge&friendID=155417055&albumID=638955&imageID=169 32903

http://www.m-etropolis.com/wordpress/p/jean-michel-van-schou wburg-the-mercelis-concert/en/
New CD SUREAU of trio J-M Van Schouwburg / Jean Demey/ Kris Vanderstraeten (Creative Sources CS 112).

My Interests

Improvised music Musique Improvisee, Ethnic Musics, Family Life, Voice , Singing, Sound explorations, Free Improvisation, Readings, Writing, Some Hanging with friends, Walking and visiting.
http://www.m-etropolis.com/wordpress/p/jean-michel-van-schou wburg-the-mercelis-concert/en/
http://tfjhp.blogspot.com/2008/03/22-mar-08-part2-whi-music- jmvs-ji-bloom.html

I'd like to meet:

Other singers involved in improvisation and interested by ego-less collective & interactive improvised acoustic performance/ private sessions/ explorations.

Music:

FESTIVAL PARIS 4 & 5 JULY http://festivalr-de-choc.blogspot.com/
Review : SUREAU JM Van Schouwburg/Jean Demey/ Kris Vanderstraeten Creative Sources CS112 by Philippe Schoonbrood Jazzaround
Jean Michel Van Schouwburg, notre rédacteur free (jazz) et mémoire vivante des musiques improvisées de ces quarante dernières années, nous livre un opus remarquable sur un label portugais ! Si sa signature se fait rare dans le magazine, c’est principalement à cause du développement de sa carrière artistique et des invitations venues d’Espagne, de Grande – Bretagne et d’Italie. Le percussionniste Kris Vanderstraeten est un compagnon de longue date de J-M VS, tandis que le contrebassiste Jean Demey appartient sans nul doute aux figures tutélaires de la galaxie du free – jazz des années 60-70 à la base de la conversion de Jean-Michel. Une page Myspace (www.myspace.com/orynx) très bien documentée, avec de nombreuses photos et des extraits [email protected]@hotmail.com, vous en dira utilement encore beaucoup plus. Pour ceux qui l’ignorent, le sureau est un fruit dont le jus sert à soigner les maux de gorge et les problèmes de voix avec une grande efficacité. Au cÅ“ur des recherches permanentes de sons libérés, de vibrations partagées, d’installation de climats improbables de ce trio, Van Schouwburg doit sans aucun doute disposer en permanence de sa petite potion de sureau. Il étonne et détonne et sa couverture tout à fait maîtrisée de près de quatre octaves force le respect. En effet, la voix de tête se libère naturellement sans recourt aux artifices habituels. Le contrôle du volume par un travail intense sur la respiration force le respect. Se déplaçant sur les toiles sonores tissées par un Vnaderstraeten pointilliste et un Demey plus que jamais inscrit dans le registre de la force tranquille, Jean – Michel Van Schouwburg entraîne l’auditeur dans un folklore imaginaire toujours en construction. Philippe Schoonbrood Jazzaround.

Review : THE MERCELIS CONCERT Inaudible 006 by Massimo Ricci (Touching Extremes)
JOHN RUSSELL / JEAN DEMEY / JEAN-MICHEL VAN SCHOUWBURG - The Mercelis concert (Brussels 2006) (Inaudible) I received this nicely packaged CD along with a very kind letter - in Italian! - from Belgian vocalist Van Schouwburg, who told me about the "love and patience" that were put into the realization of this artifact, recorded live at the Petit Théâtre Mercelis in Brussels. There's no doubt that every minute of this record confirms those handwritten thoughts in full. Jean-Michel is an extraordinary performer, his flexibility and powerful agility crossing the borders between the styles of Demetrio Stratos and Phil Minton, with a little bit of muscle in addition. Comrades in this occasion were guitarist John Russell, really needing no introduction (as announcers used to say when calling Mike Tyson's arrival in the ring) and double bassist Jean Demey who's featured in two tracks, one of them a beautiful solo demonstrating an immaculate technique and the will to walk roads leading outside the habitual trickery. While Russell is at his usual semi-acoustic best, this time fusing snappy plucks and chordal bangs with an unheard before rock attitude (listen to the end of "Light stagin'") and long moments of attentive silence ("The Mercelis trio"), Van Schouwburg is the force to be reckoned as a true revelation here, his constant research for new standards of vocal improvisation - which materializes without sounding wacky or excessively ironic, repeated rants and snarls notwithstanding - scuttling the certainties of what a "singer" is supposed to do during an exhibition. The innocent comments that a young kid in the audience externalizes every once in a while appear as a symbol of purity amidst a radically genuine kind of expression, unpedigreed music that can turn our mood for the better in the space of a few minutes. Massimo Ricci. http://spazioinwind.libero.it/extremes/touchinghome.htm ======================================================= Ken Waxman about The Mercelis Concert Inaudible 006 http://www.jazzword.com/review/126387
John Russell/Jean Demey/Jean-Michael Van Schouwburg The Mercelis Concert Inaudible 006 CD
------------------------------------------------------ A fixture on the London Free Music scene since the early 1970s, guitarist John Russell has never had the same high profile as some other improvising guitarists, despite his association with the long-running Mopomoso concert series and partnership, with, among others, saxophonist John Butcher and pianist Chris Burn. Part of the reason for this can be heard on these two collaborative CDs. Although mostly a series of duos and trio – with one nonet showcase – Russell's sharp, metallic styling frequently seems to recede into the background. No matter whether he's matched with an instrumentalist or a sound-singer, and despite how well the guitarist plays, the overall impression is that he's accompanying the other performer(s). This situation is in clearest focus on The Mercelis Concert, a whimsically-packaged CD that comes with a distinctive, cartoon-like cover and a disc that resembles an old LP. Except for one trio track which adds Belgium bassist Jean Demey – who also and separately has his own impressive solo feature on another track – this mostly Brussels-recorded material finds Russell's contribution nearly buried beneath the verbal and gullet gymnastics of Waterloo-based vocal improviser Jean-Michael Schouwburg. A dramatic performer in the Phil Minton extended-vocal-tradition, of what he terms phonési, Van Schouwburg – who is also the administrator of the Belgian Inaudible Collective – attracts the aural spotlight as effortlessly as a starlet does paparazzi' cameras. Here he unleashes a distinctive array of throat, mouth and tonsil intonation that encompasses guttural murmuring, duck-like quacks, extended nattering, Satchmo-style growls, saliva-filled expositions, Bedlam-like mumbles and vibrating warbles. Russell responds with crossbow-like pulls on his strings, rasps beneath the guitar's bridge and abrasive extended slides. Nevertheless, even when Demey is on hand to provide some additional rhythmic bass lines on "The Mercelis Trio", the focus remains on the singer's mumbles, retches and theatricalism. As examples of Ur-improvisation, the CD can't be faulted – but it's Van Schouwburg's show all the way." -------------------------------------------
RECOMMENDED ARTISTS IN THE IMPROVISED MUSIC FIELD WHO ARE QUITE UNIQUE and DESERVE WIDER RECOGNITION.........

Paul Hubweber : trombone/ Phil Zoubek : piano/ Ute Wassermann : voice/ Tony Bevan : bass saxophone/ Jean Demey : double bass/ Jacques Foschia : bass clarinet/ Adelheid Sieuw : flutes/ Furt: Richard Barrett / Paul Obermayer : electronics/ Paul Dunmall : sax tenor & soprano bagpipes / Phil Gibbs : guitars/ John Russell : acoustic guitar/ Aleks Kolkowski : violin Javier Carmona : percussion/ Chefa Alonso : soprano sax/ Hugh Metcalfe : incredible stage person/ Dylan Bates : violin/ Georg Wissell : alto saxophone/ Pascal Marzan acoustic guitar/ Roger Smith : acoustic guitar/ Lawrence Casserley : electronics/ Christoph Irmer : violin/ Charlotte Hug : violin/ Hubbub : improvising group/ London Improvisors Orchestra/ LIO conductors : Steve Beresford, Dave Tucker, David Leahy, Phil Wachsmann, Caroline Kraabel. Canaries on the Pole : improvising group/ Veryan Weston : piano and maestro/ Trevor Watts : alto sax legend and rythm master/ Gianni Mimmo : soprano sax/ Birgit Ulher : trumpet/ Hannah Marshall : cello/ Gail Brand : trombone/ Stefan Keune : sopranino sax/ Ulrich Philipp : dble bass/ Georg Wolf : dble bass/ Martine Altenburger : cello Frederic Blondy : piano/ Franz Hautzinger : quartertone trumpet/ and many more/
RIP : Red Rose Comedy Club 7 Sisters My 1st solo gig : MOPOMOSO
music cd's labels : www.emanemdisc.com www.nurnichtnur.com foghorn www.matchlessrecordings.com www.amiranirecords.com potlatch www.creativesourcesrecordings.com

Heroes:

"The play thou schouwburgst, Game, here endeth. The curtain drops by deep request." James Joyce in Finnegan's Wake page 257 Penguin edition

My Blog

Concerts

Nouveau ! CD SUREAU : Jean DEMEY / Jean - Michel VAN SCHOUWBURG / Kris VANDERSTRAETEN (Creative Sources Recordings Portugal) recorded 23 octobre 2007 by Michaël W Huon in ODEON 120 Studio 1030 Brussel...
Posted by Jean-Michel Van Schouwburg on Wed, 26 Mar 2008 03:55:00 PST

Clair Obscur Jacques Foschia / LIO /GIO Separately & Together

Clair Obscur Jacques Foschia Creative Sources CS 109Double cédé solo d'un incontournable de la clarinette basse et deux facettes de son art. Une en studio (Clair ?) et la seconde en concert (Obscur ??...
Posted by Jean-Michel Van Schouwburg on Thu, 24 Apr 2008 01:55:00 PST

Improv CD reviews : Tatsuya Nakatani "Primal Com.." and Spontaneous Music Ens. Bare Essentials

Tatsuya Nakatani Primal Communication. H&H productions HH 8Avec Gino Robair et Lê Quan Ninh, Tatsuya Nakatani est un des plus intéressants percussionnistes d'aujourd'hui à prolonger le travail des Edd...
Posted by Jean-Michel Van Schouwburg on Tue, 22 Apr 2008 12:34:00 PST

SUREAU cd OUT and on myspace.com/orynx

OUR SUREAU CD is out now on Creativesources rec. Tracks available on  www.myspace.com/orynx  or via SUREAU cd picture on top of myfriends in myspace. trio Jean M Van Schouwburg voice / Jean ...
Posted by Jean-Michel Van Schouwburg on Fri, 11 Apr 2008 02:49:00 PST

Discographie Jean - Michel Van Schouwburg

Discographie- Almost Free Falls : JM Van Schouwburg, electric & acoustic guitars / Kris Vanderstraeten , percussion. Zichem 1995.- Orynx Phonésie : JM Van Schouwburg voix solo. Bruxelles 01-07-1997/ L...
Posted by Jean-Michel Van Schouwburg on Thu, 28 Feb 2008 11:42:00 PST

CD The Mercelis Concert inaudible 006 review

FULL REVIEW of the cdJOHN RUSSELL / JEAN DEMEY / JEAN-MICHEL VAN SCHOUWBURG - The Mercelis concert (Brussels 2006) (Inaudible)I received this nicely packaged CD along with a very kind letter - in Ital...
Posted by Jean-Michel Van Schouwburg on Fri, 08 Feb 2008 07:05:00 PST

Spontaneous Music Ensemble & John Stevens Story

Issued in Improjazz magazine (France) , numbers of february and march 2007, The Spontaneous Music Ensemble and John Stevens (1965-1994) tells the story of an outstanding group of innovative improvisor...
Posted by Jean-Michel Van Schouwburg on Thu, 07 Feb 2008 07:58:00 PST

HURTA CORDEL Madrid - 26JAN2008

Festival Hurta Cordel 2008 Madrid la Casa Encenndida saturday 26 jan 20hJean Demey contrebasse / Adelheid Sieuw flûtes / John Russell guitar / Jean Michel VS voixhttp://musicalibre.org/tiki-index.php?...
Posted by Jean-Michel Van Schouwburg on Tue, 22 Jan 2008 11:05:00 PST