David Linx

David Linx, 2011

David Linx (* 22. March 1965 in Brussels as David Gistelinck ) is a Belgian jazz - and chanson singer and composer.

Live and act

Linx, whose father Elias Gistelinck was composer and director of the Middelheim Jazz Festival , tried his hand at piano, drums, percussion and flute before switching to singing, which he studied at the Brussels Conservatory . Linx started a James Baldwin project in 1988, reading his poems on Linx's first recording, "A Lover's Question" in 1988. He continued his James Baldwin project in the 1980s a. a. with Diederik Wissels , Slide Hampton , Steve Coleman , Toots Thielemans , Deborah Brown , the singer Victor Lazlo (on his album "Where Rivers Join" 1990) and the Belgian guitarist Pierre Van Dormael (who also contributed compositions).

He recorded his next album with the Jack van Poll trio (1990). Since 1992 he has been accompanied as a duo by Diederik Wissels, whom he has known from childhood. Their first joint recording "Kamook" was released in the same year, their duo album "This Time" in 2003 ( Le Chant du Monde ). He was also accompanied by the pianist Nathalie Loriers (on "Standards" 1997 next to Wissels, "When Time Takes Its Share" 1991). His first album "Up Close" was released in 1994 on the French label Bleu , followed by "From This Day Forward" in 1996 and "Bandarkâh" in 1998, all in a duo with Wissels. 2001 “Heartland” (Emarcy) was released, with Paolo Fresu , Jon Christensen , Palle Danielsson . On "One Heart - Three Voices" from 2005 he sings with Fay Claassen and Maria Pia De Vito . In 2001 he released an album with French chansons "L´instant d´après".

Linx also composes music for film and dance theater. He worked u. a. with the Belgian band Aka Moon (on their album "Elohim" 1997) and the Belgian singer Maurane . Linx teaches at the Brussels Conservatory. He has lived in France since 1999, which he called “the land of jazz” in a 2003 interview. There he also names Ella Fitzgerald , Betty Carter , Cassandra Wilson , Maria João , Joni Mitchell , Shirley Horn and Miles Davis as singing influences , as well as Mark Murphy , Caetano Veloso and Abdel Halim Hafez (Linx also sings in Arabic).

Prizes and awards

In 2005 he received the Prix ​​Bobby Jaspar from the Paris Académie du Jazz .

Web links

• David Linx at Discogs (English)
• Biography at Label Bleu
• Interview, 2003, French