Dominique Vantomme of VANTOMME, is a pianist, keyboardist,
composer, band leader, music educator and producer, equally well known for his
work with many European pop and rock acts as for being the jazz piano
instructor at the Music Conservatory in Kortrijk, Belgium. This album was born
from his nomadic adventures: traveling in 2016 to see Stick Men, in Holland,
and meeting up with old pal, MoonJune's Leonardo Pavkovic; and shortly
thereafter befriending the legendary bassist/stickist Tony Levin of the King
Crimson, Peter Gabriel and Stick Men hall of fame. In the studio session which
shortly followed, Dom and Tony were joined by veteran MoonJune artist, also
from Belgium, Michel Delville (The Wrong Object; douBt; Machine Mass), who was
recruited on guitar, and another Belgian musician, Maxime Lenssens, tasked with
holding down the timekeeping duties.
The spontaneity and freshness of this
sizzling, high-altitude set reflects the equally unpretentious manner in which
the session itself came together. Tackling some decidedly hip musical sketches
of Dominique Vantomme, the band is given
full artistic liberty – and with all participants in top form, the resulting
music weaves and winds its way across paths previously untrodden ... in
stunning fashion, and with sure footing! In the truest MoonJune tradition,
"Vegir" thumbs its nose at convention and showcases these seasoned
veteran musicians at the top of their game: with the skill set, bravery and
chutzpah to follow their instincts and, in the process, allow the music to seek
out and ultimately capture its own form. It slinks; it growls; it stalks; it
devours! It grooves; it stutters; it holds you in suspense, then explodes! (...
think 'juggling chainsaws' in the sonic realm.
Dominique Vantomme will appear on the new album of Mark
Winggield featuring Yaron Stavi and Asaf Sirkis, as a special guests on three
tunes, to be released in May 2018.
Besides being an extraordinary musician, Michel Delville
also teaches English literature and comparative literature at the University of
Liège, where he directs the Interdisciplinary Center for Applied Poetics. He is
the author of books pertaining to comparative poetics and interdisciplinary
studies. His awards and distinctions include the 1998 SAMLA Book Award, the
Choice Outstanding Book Award, the Léon Guérin Prize, the 2001 Alumni Award of
the Belgian American Educational Foundation, the rank of Officer of the Order
of Leopold (Belgium) (2009), and the 2009 Prix Wernaers pour la recherche et la
diffusion des connaissances.
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