Ferre Vankeirsbilck
Show us who you are, not what you do

The path that would lead Ferre Vankeirsbilck to a master’s degree in jazz saxo­phone began in a band when he was around eight years old. On a sweltering July day, in the shade of Herberg Macharius, he tells us how that quest to find his own sound unfolded and where it has taken him so far.

FERRE VANKEIRSBILCK
In my primary school chapel, I heard a saxophonist playing, with a beautiful resonance. So I decided to take up the saxophone, but ended up with a strict, classical teacher, with whom I felt I was missing a connection to the music. So my mum suggested I try the jazz-pop-rock department. That’s how I ended up with Bruno Van der Haeghen, the first of three teachers who’d studied at KASK & Conservatorium. After secondary school, I decided to go there myself.

STIJN BUYST
When did you realise that jazz was your thing?

FV
In the fifth year of secondary school, I ended up with Warre Van de Putte, who had a really good approach to teaching jazz and improvisation. For example, he played me Sonny Stitt’s I’ll Be Seeing You, and then we composed a piece ourselves, based on that chord progression.

SB
I’ve always thought that the saxophone is the hardest instrument on which to find your own voice, precisely because it plays such a central role in jazz.

FV
That’s true for all wind instruments. But with the saxophone, there’s the added factor that you can do so many different things: different mouthpieces, reeds, instruments… My teacher, Bart Defoort, would often turn up with a new mouthpiece and ask which one I thought sounded best. It’s funny, that never-ending quest for every saxophonist…

SB
Have you found your sound yet?

FV
The jury certainly thought so. Personally, I find it hard to say what I sound like. I listen a lot to Sonny Stitt, Cannonball Adderley and Kenny Garrett, but I don’t think my sound is anything like theirs.

SB
Last year, you went to Graz on an Erasmus exchange.

FV
The best thing that’s ever happened to me! The focus there is even more on playing a lot. What’s more, I was able to take on flute as an optional subject there, which is important if you want to join the wind section of a big band as a saxophonist. That school in Graz is huge. We had two big bands there: one modern band, which played pieces by Kenny Wheeler and the like, and then The Stage Band – the one I was in – which played old pieces by Count Basie and Duke Ellington. Very educational.

SB
What’s the scene like in Graz?

FV
I think the scene in Ghent is a bit bigger. What was really cool, though, was that the coordinator of the programme – Sigi Feigl – had his own club, Tube’s. No jam sessions, but a proper jazz club, with an entrance fee and brilliant concerts by Gary Smulyan, Dick Oatts, Dena DeRose, Ilja Reijngoud… Those concerts were often linked to a masterclass at the school.

SB
What is the most important lesson you’ve learnt throughout the programme?

FV
I’ve probably learnt the most from playing with the KASK & Conservatorium Big Band. When we performed Dangerous Liaison at the MIRY – Bert Joris’s composition for big band and classical orchestra – I was given the chance to take over a section from the first alto sax. Before that, I’d also had the opportunity to play first alto in a Latin big band in Brussels. I gained a lot from that experience, although I’m still better as a second alto.

SB
Your graduation project wasn’t a big-band, but a quartet.

FV
The great thing is that you’re completely free to do whatever you like for that graduation concert. Nikolaos Tsouvalas, for example, performed a blend of Balkan music and jazz. I wanted to perform my own compositions. I’d never written anything before. A minor in composition with Sam Vloemans really got me off to a good start.

Putting that quartet together was a different matter altogether. I’d quick­ly found pianist Alexis Boone and drummer Toon Putteman. Finding a bassist was an­­other matter entirely, as there were few bassists at the school, and having been away for a year, I’d lost touch with the scene a bit… Until I came across Alexander De Baedts, who graduated as a guitarist six years ago and is now study­ing electric bass.

SB

Is there room for improvisation in your compositions?

FV
Certainly. I started with the idea of intro-theme-improvisation. Here in Ghent, I’ve had a lot of exposure to free improvisation and free jazz. To the listener, that might sound like obscure avant-garde music, but as a musician, I find that perhaps the most enjoyable thing to do.

At Werkplaats Walter this year, I took part in a project with Myra Melford, an American pianist who has played a lot with Ingrid Laubrock. She really is the cream of the crop when it comes to free improvisation.

SB

Isn’t a graduation concert like that an incredibly surreal situation?

FV

It was certainly a stressful day. But my girl­friend had come over from England and there were loads of friends and family there, so that was great. My favourite saxophonist and external mentor, Benjamin Herman, was there too. I learnt a great deal from him. He told me I shouldn’t try to play like the best, but simply be myself. ‘Show us who you are, not what you do.,’ he told me. But apparently the stress wasn’t as bad as I thought, because my teacher, Jan Chantrain, told me afterwards that I played as if I were ten concerts into a tour.

SB

Final question: are there any fellow students you look up to?

FV
Definitely Nikolaos Tsouvala. He was always the better player of the two of us. Over the years, he’s broadened his musical horizons to include the Balkans and Greece. I think what he’s done is so cool. And Monne Verschaeve is probably the best trumpet player of our generation here in Belgium.

But I also admire a lot of my teachers. The best thing was that Warre van de Putte, who prepared me for KASK & Conservatorium, ended up being on my exam panel. He’s been such a support throughout my school career: the fact that he was part of the jury really brought things full circle.