manuel hermia
© Maël G Lagadec

manuel hermia

 As an improviser, composer and explorer of world music, Manuel Hermia also gives free rein to his discourse as a saxophonist and his love of the bansuri. In addition to his studies in saxophone and jazz harmony at the Conservatoire, he has developed a mastery of the bansuri - the North Indian flute. He has also broadened his knowledge of Indian and Arabic music, integrating ragas and maqâms into a holistic approach to music. In general, he gradually integrates into his language all the cultural elements that his journey invites him to integrate. He has also developed his own melodic-harmonic system with his "rajazz" theory, bridging the gap between jazz and ragas, i.e. between tonal and modal thinking in music.

PERSONAL MUSIC PROJECTS

Manuel Hermia has developed parallel personal projects in several directions:

- in contemporary jazz

-with the trio DARRIFOURQ-HERMIA-CECCALDI. Jazz that's both accessible and uncompromising. Since 2014, this group has been spreading its inventive, supercharged jazz across Europe.

-L'ORCHESTRA NAZIONALE DELLA LUNA, co-lead by Kari Ikonen, with Teun Verbruggen and Sébastien Boisseau on rhythm. Three albums released between 2015 and 2024.

-TASSIN-HERMIA-JORIS: band born in 2023, offering contemporary blues tinged with rock textures, world rhythms and libertarian flights of fancy.

-Manuel Hermia FREETET. Initially a trio for two albums (Long tales and short Stories, Igloo 2010, Octave for best jazz group in 2011) in the company of the very adventurous Joao Lobo (drums) and Manolo Cabras (double bass). The trio became FREETET in 2021, adding the talents of Jean-Paul Estiévenart on trumpet and Samuel Blaser on trombone.


- in mainstream jazz

-HERMIA-MOHY-GERSTMANS plays The Love Songs. A trio that honors Broadway standards, in a very intimate formula, without drums.
- Manuel Hermia Quartet (L'esprit du Val, Igloo 1999 and Rajazz, Igloo 2006), with Erik Vermeulen on piano, Sal La Rocca or Sam Gertsmans on bass, Bruno Castellucci or Lieven Venken on drums.

- at the crossroads of world music

-HERMIA-LELEUX: METANOÏA. This duo with Simon Leleux presents a universe that is both purely original and nourished by the oriental influences of both protagonists.
- LE MURMURE DE L'ORIENT (Le Murmure de l'Orient vol 1 2005, and vol 2 in 2012 Igloo et Cristal/Harmonia Mundi)
- the band SLANG (Los Locos, Save the Chilis, It's on the way, Karmasutra), for Coltranian ethno rock with bandmates Michel Seba on percussion and François Garny on bass.
-Manu also plays regularly in the Majid Bekkas AFRO ORIENTAL TRIO (al qantara-igloo mondo, 2014), a project he didn't generate himself but in which he's particularly invested musically.

- young audience :
- with Jazz for Kids (Kids Avatars, 2016), featuring Sam Gertsmans on double bass and Pascal Mohy on piano.

-Aïda et le Rêve de Dromadaire: a theatrical musical tale written and composed by Manuel Hermia, with Alain Eloy, Sonia Jacquelin, Stephan Pougin and Yacir Rami.

OTHER MUSICAL PROJECTS
On the jazz scene, he has also played with Pierre Van Dormael, Erik Vermeulen, Jean-Louis Rassinfosse, Nicolas Andrioli, Barbara Wiernik, Bruno Castellucci, Sam Gertsmans, Lieven Venken, Salvatore La Rocca, Sylvain Romano (Fr), Julien Tassin, Julien Herne (Fr), Marcin Oles (Pl), Nono Garcia (Es), Ramon Lopez (Es), Omri Mor (Israel), Kari Ikonen (Fl), Jean-Pierre Froidebise, Maxime Blésin, Cédric Raymond, Greg Houben, Julien Charley (Fr), Emmanuel Duprey (Fr), and many others.

He has also created and performed with many artists from diverse cultures: Majid Bekkas (oud and guembri, Morocco), Mamady Keita (Djembe, Guinea), Purbayan Chatterjee (sitar, India), Kheireddine Mkachiche (violin, Algeria), Dhruba Ghosh (sarangi, India), Manou Gallo (bass, Ivory Coast) Guo Gan (erhu, China), Regis Gizavo (accordion, Madagascar), Mokoomba (Zimbabwe), Ben Ngabo (Rwanda), Joao Braga (Brazil), Dobet Gnahoré (vocals, Ivory Coast), Cumali Bulduk (Turkey), Mawaran (vocals, Lebanon), Yacir Rami (oud, Morocco), Hussein Rassim (oud, Iraq)....

He has also appeared as a guest with Fred Wesley, Zap Mama, Didier Laloy, Karim Baggili, Salvatore Adamo, Sttellla, William Sheller, Khadja Nin, Dick Annegarn, Clarika , The Guilty Brothers Experience, Oxymore ...

MULTIDISCIPLINARY PROJECTS as a composer
- Manuel Hermia has performed and composed for the contemporary circus-dance company Feria Musica for 10 years (three shows, world tour).
- He has composed for the contemporary dance-circus company Babafish.
- He has composed music for a number of short films and documentaries.
- He presented an installation of sound portraits of artists, commissioned by Smart in 2008.
- He composes a series of "Fluid Suites" for solo instruments in contemporary classical music, based on his Rajazz.

TEACHING
- He has been teaching jazz saxophone and jazz ensemble classes at the Conservatoire Royal de Bruxelles since September 2014.
- He has been teaching an improvisation seminar for master's level classical students (strings and winds) at the same Royal Conservatory in Brussels since January 2016.
- He has given numerous workshops in Belgium (jazz saxophone at AKDT since 2013)
and on tour abroad (Vietnam, China, Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria, etc.).

ASSOCIATIVE LIFE
- Vice-President of Jeunesses musicales de FWB from 2011 ro 2021
- Member of the Sabam Board of Directors since May 2013
- Board member of Smart asbl and then Smart Foundation since 2002 to 2022
- President of the Belgian association of jazz musicians "les lundis d'Hortense" ( from 2003 to 2005)
and director from 2000 to 2014.


  • Read an interview of Manu HERMIA in the Journal of the Lundis d'Hortense (in French).