Charbin & Van Schouwburg

Following meetings during improvised music concerts in Brussels, graduated jazz pianist Marjolaine Charbin (born 1977) and autodidact vocal improviser Jean-Michel Van Schouwburg (born 1955) began working privately as a rehearsal duo in February 2008. The mutual music clicked quickly and surprisingly for both improvisers.

They decided to develop a steady duo and to discover the mutual capabilities of each other following different ways and methods of freely improvising, at hand for creative musicians. The love for rhythmic interplay and sound explorations of Marjolaine found a response in the demented mouth articulation of Jean-Michel, his falsetto, yodels…. Although they have completely different backgrounds and musical lives – Marjo is as well educated in music and intensively trained on her instrument as J-M became a wild self-discovered vocal outlaw – they fit each other well with their adventurous and risky musical appetite for the unknown, the deeply felt and the funnily enjoyable. Their first recording “Quelles Bouches voleront en éclats” is now available. Composer Dario Palermo / “unstable systems” is also working with them as a trio with electronics and wrote a work for J-M VS, Trance , 5 Stations fr Voice and Electronics. They performed at University of East Anglia/ Norwich the 23 november 2009.

Marjolaine Charbin and J-M Van Schouwburg believe fondly in the act of free improvising for to create challenging and surprising forms of music. Marjolaine Charbin has been leading her own jazz groups like Radar Trio and Pianoctail on the Belgian jazz circuit and is currently writing her own works for piano. She performs also in various alternative pop bands like Mrs Okkido. She has a deep musical empathy with saxophonist Frans van Isacker and works with many young talents of the Brussels scene like Audrey Lauro, Ann Eisermans, Rui Salgado, Nico Lancerotti, Daniel Duchâteau, Clément Nourry, J-P De Gheest etc…. Recent performances with dancers Daphni Stephaniou & Juylen Hamilton with piano bass percussion trio of M.Charbin – Jean Demey – Kris Vanderstraeten.

Works in duo with dancer Juylen Hamilton. Marjolaine grew up in Paris and graduated in sound engineering in Brussels where she is living since 1996. J-M Van Schouwburg is instrumental in establishing free improvisation in the Brussels area organising concerts and workshops with Inaudible Collective since the eighties. Autodidact vocal improviser, J-M VS became in recent years one of the few male singers on the European improv scene like Phil Minton, Jaap Blonk and Benat Achiary. He has recorded and performed with Jean Demey, Kris Vanderstraeten, Adelheid Sieuw, Jan – Huib Nas, Guy Strale, Jacques Foschia, John Russell, Paul Hubweber, Phil Minton, Ute Wassermann, Gianni Mimmo, Paul Dunmall, Phil Gibbs, Javier Carmona, Lawrence Casserley and some others. Both Marjolaine & J-M performed in the Festival R-de-Choc 2008 in Paris, with Gianni Mimmo, Chefa Alonso & Javier Carmona oct/nov 2008 in Brussels. Concerts 2009 : London Mopomoso @The Vortex 18th january, Brussels L’Archiduc 22nd march with Paul Dunmall and Jean Demey, Brussels, Liège L’AnVert 5th may, Remua 9th September with trumpet ace Peter Evans and Audrey Lauro, sax alto. Sonic Arts UEA Norwich 23rd November with Dario Palermo, electronics. Bruxelles Le Brass 12 December with MouthWind- Lawrence Casserley live signal processing, Jacques Foschia, bass clarinet & Adelheid Sieuw, flutes.

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