THE RETURN

TRACKLISTING


1 Bram Weijters' Crazy Men - The Beginnin g
2 Bram Weijters' Crazy Men - Nineteen Seventy Fourths
3 Bram Weijters' C razy Men - The Silver Eye
4 Bram Weijters' Crazy Men - Pathetic Sounds
5 B ram Weijters' Crazy Men - The Silver End
6 Bram Weijters' Crazy Men - Planes (intro)
7 Bram Weijters' Crazy Men - Objí?dka
8 Bram Weijters' Crazy Men - Planes
9 Bram Weijters' Crazy Men - Carol
10 Bram Weijters' Crazy Men - N asca
11 Bram Weijters' Crazy Men - Transvested Express / Postaeolian Train Ro bbery
12 Bram Weijters' Crazy Men - Chiang Mai
13 Bram Weijters' Crazy Men - Chief Of Freen Bean / Oh Boy
14 Bram Weijters' Crazy Men - Reine De La Val lée





INFO


Bram Weijters' Crazy Men is a thrilling take on Belgian jazz-rock and fusion from the 1970s. Consisting of mus icians from a wide array of contemporary jazz bands including Lucid Lucia (ex BR ZZVLL), Dans Dans, STUFF. and Cargo Mas, the ensemble is led by Antwerp based pi ano and keyboard player, Bram Weijters.

On a continuous quest to expl ore the roots of early Belgian jazz rock, the spark for this very special collab orative project was ignited by the reissue of composer, arranger, pianist, and k eyboardist Koen de Bruyne's 1974 rare Belgian gem, 'Here Comes the Crazy Man!' v ia Sdban Records in 2015, which spawned the release of Bram Weijters' Crazy Men' s debut album 'Here They Come' in 2019.

Continuing their obsession wi th premium experimental jazz-rock, 'The Return' takes further inspiration from t he period with 14 reworking's of compositions from artists including Philip Cath erine, Placebo, Palle Mikelborg ensemble, Bob Porter, Cos and Koen de Bruyne. Bu t this is no lazy rehash, copy or rip-off. Pyschedelic, free-spirited and infect iously groovy, 'The Return' perfectly captures the inspiring crossover energy th at seemed to prevail in the Belgian jazz scene of the 70s. Take 'Nineteen Sevent y Fourths' for example. Influenced by the Philip Catherine recording of the same name which appeared on the 'September Man' (1974) album, Bram Weijters' Crazy M en breathe new life into the track which floats anywhere between heavy funk and psychedelic jazz rock and also takes inspiration from the Palle Mikelborg ensemb le live version performed at Jazz Middelheim in August 1974.

Elsewher e, a reworking of Placebo's 'Planes' is inspired by two memorable live performan ces of the track from Marc Moulin's jazz-fusion band; 'Placebo Live in Temse' (1 972) and 'Placebo Live in Bruxelles' (1973). An all-out assault of crossover ene rgy, it fizzes with dramatic trumpets and a racing rhythm section while 'Carol', originally recorded by Steve Houben, Mauve Traffic for the album 'Oh Boy' (1979 ) brings the pace right down and allows Weijters' piano to take centre stage.

Weijters first began studying music at the age of eight years old, atte nding piano and percussion classes. In addition to his classically trained backg round, he played drums in several alternative rock bands as a teenager and exper imented with tape recorders and electronic circuits. This eclectic background st ill forms the basis of his open approach to music today. At eighteen, he studied jazz piano at Antwerp Conservatory and later jazz composition and arranging at Brussels Conservatory - graduating in 2005 and took lesson and attended mastercl asses from jazz scholars including Kenny Werner, Anthony Braxton, Gary Peacock, Mark Turner, Dave Liebman, Bill Carrotters and more.

During his devel opment, Weijters has participated in a number of different projects over the yea rs including several jazz formations as well as with musicians from the Belgian hip hop scene, singer-songwriters and alternative bands but jazz and impro are h is first love. He would go on to form and be part of the Bram Weijters-Chad McCu llough Quartet, Bram Weijters Trio and Quartet, Hamster Axis of the One-Click Pa nther, Mazzle, Zygomatik, and Jelle Van Giel Group and has performed at venues, festivals and concert halls throughout Europe.

Bram Weijters' Crazy M en are: Bram Weijters: Piano and Keyboards, Sam Vloemans: Trumpet and Percussion , Andrew Claes: C-Melody Sax, EWI, Wavedrum, Toine Thys: Tenor Sax (track 9), Ba ss Clarinet, Vincent Brijs: Baritone Sax, Dries Laheye: Bass, Gerben Brys: Bass (track 9) and Steven Cassiers: Drums.