FRED VAN HOVE

Born in Antwerp, Belgium, in 1937, pianist Fred Van Hove, is, let’s not refrain from saying it, one of the living legends of the free-jazz revolution that stormed continental Europe in the 1960’s. Having collaborated, since early on, with Peter Brotzmann (he is one of the performers in his legendary Machine Gun), he developed, with the addition of percussionist Han Bennink, one of the great trios of that legendary decade. From mid-70’s onwards, he specialized in solo works (with a groundbreaking signature in accompanying silent movies, particularly works by Griffiths, Murnau, Dreyer or Lang) and in duo action, alongside giants such as Steve Lacy, Evan Parker or Radu Malfati, and has, since then, remained an active force with a myriad of interdisciplinary, educational and communitarian projects which have granted him, in 1996, the status of Cultural Ambassador by the Belgian government.