Gaume Jazz Festival : Wajdi Riahi Trio

A journey between Tunis and Brussels, full of emotions and delicious oriental nuances

Wajdi Riahi, piano / Pierre Hurty, percussion / Basile Rahola, double bass

A prodigious pianist affirms his growing status with a rich new CD!

Genesis of the project

Wajdi Riahi, Basile Rahola, and Pierre Hurty are inseparable. United by a strong friendship, they share several musical projects. It was only natural that in 2020 they formed this new trio in Brussels. In 2021, following an offer from the Spanish label Fresh Sounds Records, Wajdi recorded his first repertoire with this trio: Mhamdeya, named after his hometown, which he left at the age of 20 to settle in Belgium and study jazz at the Brussels Conservatory. Two years later, the trio continued their collaboration with Fresh Sounds Records for a new album. It is this new repertoire, which delves deeper into the pianist's native Arabic culture, that we will discover during his Jazz Tour.

Wajdi Riahi's compositions and musical journey speak to a connection between Belgium and Tunisia, a collaboration between passionate cultural associations on both sides of the Mediterranean: a music school in Tunis and a summer camp in Libramont. The result is a subtle, blended music that demonstrates great musical and human maturity.

Biography of Wajdi Riahi

A jazz pianist and member of the Tunis Jazz Club, Wajdi graduated in Arabic music in 2011. In 2015, he participated in the Hard Bop Project and gave his first jazz concert with the other members of the Tunis Jazz Club. In 2016, he participated in the Jazz Itinerary: a series of concerts organized by the Tunis Jazz Club Association and a course at the AKDT in Libramont (Belgium) with lessons in jazz piano, improvised music, and composition.

In 2017, Wajdi played in Darimba, the project of Tunisian bassist Wassim Ben Rhouma. He then created his own project, North Africa, with which he won three awards: the Bronze Tanit, the Best Composition Award, and the Ahmed Litaiem Award for Best Soloist. Wajdi also participated in American pianist Barry Harris's Master Class in Italy.

He currently studies at the Royal Conservatory of Brussels with pianist Éric Legnini. Wajdi performs in various projects in Brussels, such as his trio with Basile Rahola on double bass and Pierre Hurty on drums.

Among the active groups in which Wajdi performs as a sideman are Stéphane Galland's 'The Rythme Hunters', Fabrice Alleman's 'Now Project', 'Aleph Quintet', and Armando Luongo's 'New Lands'. Wajdi also participated in the thirtieth anniversary celebration of the legendary band Aka Moon in Brussels at the Festival des Libertés.

Press coverage

"Riahi's clean touch, dense phrasing, musicality, and sense of suspense are reminiscent of The Bad Plus, Brad Mehldau, and even E.S.T. As for the pianist's vocalizations, peppered with modulations, they reinforce the music's oriental character." (Jazz à Babord, FR, 2023).

"Wajdi demonstrates a great mastery of space and sound, distributing roles within his trio by defining the right proportions between the individual and the collective." » (Jazz Magazine, 2022).

See you at the 2025 Gaume Jazz Festival!