Philippe Aerts
contrebasse

Born in Belgium, Philippe AERTS starts playing guitar and bass guitar at the age of 11.
At the age of 14, his father, an amateur but talented bassist, gives him his double bass and plays him jazz records, with a. o. bassist Ray BROWN. It is a revelation for him.
Philippe immediately falls in love with jazz and with the bass. He starts practicing, listening to records. The following year, at the age of 15, he plays his first gigs with Dixieland and mainstream jazz bands.
After a few years practicing, playing concerts and listening to records, his musical taste leads him towards more modern jazz. He then meets Belgian musicians such as Charles LOOS, Diederik WISSELS, Jan DE HAAS, and plays with them.

Today, he is one of the busiest bassists in Belgium and abroad.

He participated in several festivals, such as Northsea, Montpellier, Krakow, Middelheim, Belga, etc.
He had the opportunity to accompany many jazz greats, on tour in Europe :
Joe LOVANO, Joe HENDERSON, Larry SCHNEIDER, Steve GROSSMAN, Art LANDE, Richie BEIRACH, Mal WALDRON, David KIKOSKI, Charlie MARIANO, Chet BAKER, Toots THIELEMANS, Tom HARRELL, Lee KONITZ, Bob BROOKMEYER, etc.

He also toured throughout Europe with the Rick HOLLANDER Quartet, the Philip CATHERINE Trio, Charlie MARIANO, and worked with Lew TABACKIN, the Serge LAZAREVITCH Quartet, Nathalie LORIERS, Charles LOOS, Michel HERR, Bert JORIS, Kurt VAN HERCK, Ivan PADUART, Richard GALLIANO a.o. with Daniel HUMAIR, Eric LE LANN, etc...

In December 1997 he moves to New York City and plays with the Toshiko AKIYOSHI / Lew TABACKIN Jazz Orchestra, (monday nights at NYC's Birdland), with the Lew TABACKIN Trio, Toshiko AKIYOSHI Trio, and is very active within the New York Jazz scene, working with, among others: David HAZELTINE, Eric ALEXANDER, John HICKS, Mike LEDONNE, Nicholas PAYTON, Valery PONOMAREV, Ralph LALAMA, Mike KARN, Ray GALLON, Joel FRAM, Hellen MERRILL Tom HARRELL. He has been touring with the Toshiko AKIYOSHI / Lew TABACKIN Jazz Orchestra in Japan, Korea, and in the US (many festivals, including Monterey Jazz Festival), and also toured in Europe, the US and Japan with the Lew TABACKIN trio, and the Toshiko Akiyoshi trio. Since living in New York,he appears on two recordings with the Toshiko AKIYOSHI Jazz Orchestra, one recording with Toshiko AKIYOSHI trio, and also a recording with the Richie VITAME / Ralph LALAMA quintet.

In March 2000, he moves to Switzerland, Europe, but he is now lives in Belgium again.

He has been and still is working all over Europe with the Philip CATHERINE Trio, Martial SOLAL's NEWDECABAND, the Bert JORIS Quartet, the Michel HERR Quintet & Trio, etc...
And within Switzerland with Matthieu MICHEL, Maurice MAGNONI, Malcholm BRAFF, Pierre-Luc VALLET, François LINDEMAN, etc.

Philippe AERTS received the Belgian Django d'Or in 2002.

He teaches again at the Lemmens Instituut, Jazz Departmen (Leuven, Belgium).

Philippe AERTS has formed an international Trio and recorded his first CD under his own name :
"Cat Walk" (Igloo 116), with John RUOCCO (tenor sax, clar., USA) and Tony LEVIN (drs, UK).

In 2002, it is in quartet with Bert JORIS, John RUOCCO (tenor sax, clar., USA) and Tony LEVIN (drs, UK) that he releases on Igloo his album "Back to the Old World" (Igloo)