FES (Flat Earth Society)

Founded by clarinettist, saxophonist, composer/arranger Peter VERMEERSCH, FLAT EARTH SOCIETY has become one of Belgium's most original bands on the jazz and avant-guarde musical scene.
Formed in the the early nineties FLAT EARTH SOCIETY (FES) has become one of the new safety valves for Peter's creative energy. Although the music of the seventeen man FES has its roots in big band music, there is also a moment when the cleverly disguised humour and sarcasm shine through. FES greedily draws from influences such as swing, mambo, latin, chanson, cabaret, r&b and free style.

FES certainly hasn't let the grass grow under its feet between the release of its first fully-fledged album "Bonk" and "Trap" released last year. The band wrote the music for "Larf", a drama concert written by and starring Josse De Pauw. The production has since been awarded the Océ Podium prize. In 2001 the band went into the studio to record the soundtrack for "Minoes", Vincent Bal's box office hit. Their stint as the resident band of Bruges 2002 earned them a lot of respect and the future looks very promising. Gerard Mortier asked Peter Vermeersch and his Flat Earth Society to write music in the framework of the Ruhr Triennale 2003 and perform it for the opera, "Heliogabal".

The Ancienne Belgique asked FES to collaborate on a Louis Armstrong tribute, "The Armstrong Mutations". And how did FES tackle Louis Armstrong's music ? "Like 18 white Zulus from the Belgian bush who meet the Big Black Smurf from Perdido". The result has already been released on CD and this autumn sees the resumption of the successful tour. However, the "18 white Zulus" first have a date at the Den Brandt Park: Stefaan Blancke (trombone), Benjamin Boutreur (saxophones), David BovŽe (guitar), Leonaar De Graeve (tuba), Anja Kowalski (vocals and keyboards), Pieter Lamotte (bass trombone), Bart Maris (trumpet), Michel Mast (saxophones), Marc Meeuwissen (trombone), Bruno Vansina (saxophone), Teun Verbruggen (percussion), Kristof Roseeuw (double bass and singing saw), Peter Vandenberghe (keyboards), Danny Van Hoeck (percussion), Luc Van Lieshout (trumpet), Peter Vermeersch (clarinets and MC), Wim Willaert (accordion and vocals) and Tom Wouters (clarinet and percussion).

The band played at Jazz Middelheim Festival 2003 with special guest... Toots Thielemans.



More infos on the band's WEB SITE : http://www.fes.be/