Manuel Hermia

saxophones I bansuri I composition

Improviser, composer and explorer of music from around the world, Manuel Hermia simultaneously expresses his discourse as a saxophonist and his love for bansuri. the flute from North-India. His usual approach goes from modern jazz to free jazz. Besides, he has extended his knowledge of Indian and Arab music including ragas and maqams in a global thinking of music. Generally, he progressively incorporates into his language all the cultural elements that his course invites him to incorporate. He has also developed his own melodic-harmonic system with his theory called "rajazz", thus making a bridge between jazz and ragas, that is to say a tonal thinking and a modal thinking of music.

Manuel Hermia has simultaneously developed personal projects in several directions:

in contemporary jazz  with the trio Hermia/Ceccaldi/Darrifourcq. A UFO in the landscape, this trio with Sylvain Darrifourcq on drums and Valentin Ceccaldi on cello proposes a jazz both very accessible and without concessions (God at the casino, Jazz Avatars 2016).
Also, the Orchestra Nazionale della Luna, a modern jazz quartet with kari Ikonen –piano and moog-, Teun Verbruggen –drums- and Sebastien Boisseau  - bass-) released on Jazz Avatars in 2016.
Finally, the Manuel Hermia trio/Freetet (Austerity, and what about rage ? Igloo 2015, - Long tales and short Stories, Igloo 2010, Octave for best jazz band in 2011) with the very adventurous Joao Lobo –drums - and Manolo Cabras - double bass -. In the Freetet, one finds two more musicians : Samuel Blaser on trombone, and Jean-Paul Estiévenart on trumpet, a burning cocktail!

at a crossroads of musics
in the band Slang (Los Locos, Save the Chilis, It’s on the way, Karmasutra) for an ethno coltranian rock with his mates Michel Seba on percussions and François Garny on the bass
Or in duo with Sigrid Vandenbogearden, “Fluid Suites and Rajazz”, where Manuel Hermia proposes a balance between contemporary music, jazz and indian music, trough his personal  Rajazz theory and concept, and also redefines the lines between written music and improvisation.

in a more "world" perspective
this time and only on the bansuri with "Whisper from the Orient" (vol 1 2005, and vol 2 in 2012 Igloo and Cristal/Harmonia Mundi), with Majid Bekkas Afro Oriental trio (alqantara-igloo mondo, 2014), or with the recent band called Bahdja ( with algerian vilon player Kheireddine M’kachiche).

He has also played with numerous artists from different cultures: Majid Bekkas (oud and gembri, Morocco), Mamady Keita (Djembe, Guinea), Purbayan Chatterjee (sitar, India), Kheireddine M’kachique (violin, Algeria), Dhruba Ghosh (sarangi, India), Manou Gallo (bass, Ivory Coast) Guo Gan (erhu,China), Regis Gizavo (accordion, Madagascar), Mokoomba (Zimbabwe), Ben Ngabo (Rwanda), Joao Braga (Brazil), Dobet Gnahoré (singing, Ivory Coast), Cumali Bulduk (Turkey), Mawaran (singing, Lebanon) , Yacir Rami (oud, Morocco), Hussein Rassim (oud, Irak), Omri Mor (piano, Israel), Zap Mama (vocal) , Fred Wesley (trombone, USA), Ghalia Benali (vocal, Tusinia), Didier Laloy (accordeon, Belgium)…

Teaching

He teaches jazz saxophone and jazz combo at the Conservatoire royal de Bruxelles since september 2014.
He gives a seminar of improvisation to master students at the classical department of Conservatoire royal de Bruxelles (strings and winds) in master years since january 2016.
He gave many workshops in Belgium (saxophone jazz at AKDT since 2013) and while touring international ( Vietnam, Chine, Maroc, Tunisie, Algérie…).

Associative life

I   Former member of the Board at SABAM since may 2013
I   Former member of Smart asbl Board and now Smart Foundation, since 2002
I   President of the belgian jazz musicians association “Les lundis d’Hortense” (from 2003 to 2005) and board member from 2000 to 2014.