An association working to promote and disseminate Belgian jazz.
We are recognized in Belgium as one of the main interlocutors of the public authorities. The association receives financial support from the Ministry of Culture of the French-speaking Community of Belgium. For those wondering where the association’s quirky name originated, know, for the record, that it comes from the fact that the founders of the association held their meetings on Mondays in a villa on the outskirts of Brussels that went by the pretty name of ‘Villa Hortense’.
An association run by jazz musicians and fans to defend and share a unique approach to music
Les Lundis d’Hortense defends an honest and democratic approach of great importance to transmission and education, and ensures that the rights of musicians are respected and defended by acting in an exemplary manner and by calling on the media and the authorities when necessary.
Our missions are structured around three main axes: promotion, dissemination and training.
Ever since the prehistory of jazz, Belgium has been a thriving hub for musicians. Many of them settled here, and in doing so they wrote a history of Belgian jazz that bears comparison with cities such as Paris and London. Les Lundis d’Hortense is proud to present local musicians and aims to introduce an increasingly eclectic audience to the richness and talent of jazz men and women from Wallonia, Flanders and Brussels. The dissemination of this cosmopolitan music that combines a festive spirit, a sense of liberty, and great technical and theoretical mastery, also involves bringing it to different generations of jazz aficionados, whether through the Jazz au Vert summer camp or the various activities for young people organized throughout the year.
Our Board of Directors meets on a monthly basis to decide on activities and monitor their development.
Members of the Board of Directors
Fabrice Alleman, Eve Beuvens, Tom Bourgeois, Delvaux Dimitri, Jean-Paul Estievenart, Alexandra Gadzina, Sarah Klenes, Théo Lanau, Pauline Leblond, Jean-Louis Rassinfosse, Christine Rygaert, Camille-Alban Spreng, Pierre de Surgeres, Jean-Jacques Vandenbroucke, Michel Vrydag, Alexandre Wajnberg
75 per cent of the board is made up of professional jazz men and women. All are volunteers. In addition to the monthly meetings, they participate in various reflection and action groups in order to steer the activities decided on by the entire board and, twice a year they listen to 130 groups applying for the various concert activities, blindly and by voting anonymously, with a ban on voting for the groups in which they participate.
Thank you to our partners who support us in our missions and actions to promote Belgian jazz.
Les Lundis d’Hortense benefits from a ‘contrat-programme’ with the Wallonia-Brussels Federation.
The Jazz Tour is supported by the Art et Vie tours.
The venues host concerts and other activities of the association throughout Brussels and Wallonia.
PROMOTION
We present jazz musicians by organizing concerts and we release various publications related to the Belgian jazz scene for the general public.
DISSEMINATION
We produce concerts in Brussels and organize a concert tour in Belgium with about ten bands every year
TRAINING
Every year in July we organize a week-long camp that introduces participants to jazz and trains them. We also organize pedagogical activities geared towards young audiences to introduce them to jazz music.
Support the association
Only €20 per year! Support the association by becoming a member and benefit from discounts for all our activities, concerts and workshops.