Fabrizio Cassol

Fabrizio Cassol (born June 8, 1964 in Ougrée ) is a Belgian jazz saxophonist (alto, aulochrom), clarinetist, composer and arranger.

Live and act

Cassol attended the Liège Conservatory from 1982 to 1985 (chamber music, improvisation, composition). In 1984 he studied saxophone with Francois Daneels on a scholarship, followed by seminars with John Ruocco , Steve Coleman , Joe Lovano and Evan Parker . From 1984 to 1992 he played in the “Trio Bravo” with tuba player and trombonist Michel Massot and drummer Michel Debrulle . With the trio he appeared at festivals, released several albums, played for ballet and circus projects and for film soundtracks ("Monsieur Hergé").

Together with Michel Hatzegiorgiou (electric bass guitar) and Stéphane Galland, he is the founder and leader of the fusion band " Aka Moon " (1993). The group is named after a pygmy tribe with whom they lived in Central Africa for some time in the early 1990s and with whom they also recorded a CD. They also recorded with West African (in “Live at Vooruit”) and Indian musicians (starting with “Akasha”) and by 2006 released fifteen CDs. At Aka Moon, u. a. David Linx (on "Elohim"), Éric Legnini , Malik Mezzadri (on "Amazir" with Robin Eubanks ), Marc Ducret (on "Ganesh"), David Gilmore (on "Guitars") and Pierre Van Dormael with.

Cassol also played with Steve Lacy , “Nasa Na” by Pierre Van Dormael, Vinko Globokar , the “James Baldwin Project” by David Linx, the “ACT Big Band” by Félix Simtaine and Michel Herr , Charles Loos , Jacques Pelzer , Rita Marcotulli , Eric Legnini and Palle Danielsson .

As a composer, Cassol composed (in addition to pieces for his own bands such as Aka Moon) dance music (for Brigitte Kaquet). In 1995 he composed “Variations on A Love Supreme ” with Kris Defoort for Jazz Middelheim (album with De Werf 1995). In 2006 his album VSPRS was created , which is inspired by Claudio Monteverdi's Vespro della Beata Vergine (with Aka Moon, Wim Becu, Tcha Limberger , Claron McFadden , Cristina Zavalloni ). His album Requiem pour L. , which is a world music adaptation of Mozart's Requiem for accordion, guitar, bass and drums, euphonium and lamellar harp, with seven singers performing in five African languages ​​and Latin, was awarded in the 1st quarter of 2019 and on the list of the best of the German Record Critics' Prize is set: "A stirring contribution to ars moriendi , the most important world art and art of living!"

In 1998 Cassol received the Django d'Or (Belgium) as "Established Musician". In the same year the band "Aka Moon" was voted the best (Belgian and European) combo of the year by Belgian radio listeners.

Cassol has been teaching improvisation at the Etterbeek Music Academy since 1989 .

Web links

• Cassol at Jazz in Belgium
• Aka Moon at Jazz in Belgium
• Aulochrome
• Fabrizio Cassol at Discogs (English)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Nikolaus Gatter: Best List 1-2019. Retrieved August 17, 2019 .