Tom Borugeois Quartet Tom Bourgeois Quartet / Lili
The Tom Bourgeois Quartet is working at the intersection of jazz and classical contemporary music: their debut album offers a personal, jazz-infused interpretation of pieces by the early 20th-century composer Lili Boulanger. These lyrical pieces faithfully preserve all the harmonic flavour and melodic flow of early 20th century music, made all the more pleasurable by transparent structures and clean instrumentation. Passed away at a young age, Lili Boulanger (1893–1918) was the first female composer to win the Prix de Rome: in 1913, her cantata Faust et Hélène, performed several times during her lifetime, was awarded.
The music of Tom Bourgeois blends modern jazz and contemporary music, he composes for all kinds of line-ups from solo to large ensembles. In addition to his own groups, he is a member of bands such as Odil, Vestige and the Jelle Van Giel Group, and has scored more than a dozen film scores. He founded his quartet dedicated to the works of Lili Boulanger in 2023 with renowned musicians from Belgium.
The album also features two guest musicians with close ties to BMC Records: Veronika Harcsa, who has worked with several Belgian musicians since her studies in Brussels, enriches the songs not only with her voice but also with her own lyrics, while Vincent Courtois adds his supple cello sound and his experience in contemporary classical music.
The release of Lili is the result of an ongoing collaboration between Igloo Records and BMC Records.
Artists
Tom Bourgeois – saxophones, bass clarinet
Alex Koo – piano
Lennart Heyndels – double bass
Théo Lanau – drums
Guests:
Vincent Courtois – cello (2, 3, 5, 7, 8, 13)
Veronika Harcsa – voice (2, 5, 7, 13)
About the album
All compositions and arrangements by Tom Bourgeois
Inspired by the work of Lili Boulanger
Recorded by Rudy Coclet at Jet Studio, Brussels in 2024
Mixed and mastered by Philipp Heck at Bauer Studios, Ludwigsbourg
Cover painting by Stéphanie Mansy
Artwork: Anna Natter / Cinniature
Produced by So What? Productions and László Gőz
Label manager: Tamás Bognár
In association with IGLOO Records
Supported by Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles
Tom Bourgeois Quartet - Lili
The album is available in digital form at our retail partners
EN:
What happens when you recognize someone without knowing them?
A taste of love. And what could be sweeter, than if this encounter is evoked by music?
We can all envy Tom Bourgeois for having encountered the compositions of Lili Boulanger (1893-1918) this way. But we can also thank him for transforming this encounter into a tribute album of rare intensity.
Through 14 tracks, the composer and saxophonist not only offers a sensitive interpretation of the work: he goes further, by exploring the echoes of this music, written a century ago, might have with its own approach. Thus, musical colours and a certain form of lyricism constitute the shared beacons of an eminently current landscape, which Bourgeois has already explored with his numerous other projects (including Murmures, Moanin’ Birds, Rumeurs or solo).
The result is a type of music that sometimes draws on jazz, sometimes on contemporary music, but without merely creating a collage or patchwork. On the contrary, what forms this alliance is rather the singularity of a coherent voice.
Accompanied by the powerful Théo Lanau, Lennart Heyndels, and Alex Koo, (and on some tracks by Veronika Harcsa and Vincent Courtois), with Lili, Tom Bourgeois offers us paradoxical music, very constructed and also free at the same time. A music that is alive, reminding us that love transcends gender and years.
He had already carried out this same type of work on the music of Maurice Ravel, in a “reinterpretation” of the String Quartet on the second CD of his double album Murmures (2018). This type of rewriting aims to make the music resonate differently. And here, most certainly, to pay homage to Lili Boulanger.
Maxime Coton
Thank you to Florent J. for introducing me to Lili Boulanger and her music a little by chance in 2020.
Thank you to the musicians, Alex, Lennart, Théo, Vincent and Veronika for their musical commitment throughout the creative process.
A huge thank you to the sound engineers Rudy Coclet and Philipp Heck for their focused ears.
A big thank you to Cathy (So What? Productions) who enabled this album to see the light of day.
FR:
Que se passe-t-il lorsque l’on reconnait quelqu’un sans le connaître ? On goûte à l’amour. Et quoi de plus doux lorsque cette rencontre est suscitée par la musique ?
On peut envier Tom Bourgeois d’avoir ainsi croisé les compositions de Lilli Boulanger (1893-1918). Mais on peut également le remercier d’avoir transformé cette rencontre en un disque-hommage d’une rare intensité.
À travers 14 titres, le compositeur et saxophoniste ne se contente pas d’offrir une interprétation sensible de l’œuvre. Il va plus loin en investiguant les échos que cette musique écrite il y a un siècle peut avoir avec sa propre démarche. Ainsi, les couleurs musicales et une certaine forme de lyrisme constituent les balises communes d’un paysage éminemment actuel, que Bourgeois arpente par ailleurs avec d’autres de ses projets (Murmures, Moanin’ Birds, Rumeurs ou en solo).
Il en résulte une musique qui puise tantôt dans le jazz, tantôt dans la musique contemporaine, mais sans collage ni couture. Au contraire, c’est plutôt la singularité d’une voix cohérente qui nait de cette alliance.
Accompagné par les vigoureux Théo Lanau, Lennart Heyndels et Alex Koo, (et sur quelques plages par Veronika Harcsa et Vincent Courtois), Tom Bourgeois nous offre avec Lili une musique paradoxale, très écrite et libre à la fois. Une musique vivante nous rappelant que l’amour transcende les genres et les années.
Il a déjà adopté ce procédé avec la musique de Maurice Ravel, dans une réinterprétation du Quatuor à cordes, qui se trouve sur le deuxième disque de son album double Murmures (2018). Ce genre de reécriture a pour but de faire résonner la musique de façon differente. Et dans ce cas, sans aucun doute, de rendre hommage à Lili Boulanger.
Maxime Coton
Merci à Florent J. de m’avoir fait découvrir Lili Boulanger et sa musique un peu par hasard en 2020.
Merci aux musicien(e)s, Alex, Lennart, Théo, Vincent et Veronika pour leur investissement musical tout au long du processif créatif.
Un immense merci aux ingénieurs du son Rudy Coclet et Philipp Heck pour leurs oreilles attentives.
Un grand merci à Cathy (So What ? Productions) qui a permis à cet album de voir le jour.