Benny Van Acker

Instruments : Double bass, Electric bass
Date of birth : 03/05/1977 - Anvers

Benny Van Acker was influenced by the musical sounds in his parent's home. For over four years he took clarinet classes with Freddy Arteel at the Music Academy of Deurne. At the age of fourteen, he quit music studies and started focusing on acting (KJT A'pen, KNS A'pen/Raamtheater and TAA).

At the age of sixteen, he discovered the bass guitar. Not only did he receive a ‘Masters in Music' certificate at the Hogeschool Gent Department Academy of Music (College of Advanced Education of Gent), he also received a degree in teaching (a two or three year college in Belgium). His teachers were Nic Thijs (bass guitar) and Stefan Lievestro (contrabas). Benny enrolled in several master classes, having teachers such as Maria Schneider (USA) with whom he played at the Middelheim Jazz Festival (2001); Bob Mintzer(USA), Kenny Werner(USA), Joel Di Bartolo(USA), and Bobo Stenson (S).

Not only does he teach Jazz and Light Music in the Municipal Academies of Music of Roeselare, Waregem, Mechelen and Sint Niklaas, he also joins several music groups like The News Wing (Jazz Lab Series dec. 2004), Big Band '86 (conducted by Marc Godfroid "Brussels Jazz Orchestra").

He is an active member of the band Hijaz (1 CD).

At the end of 2004, he collaborated on recording "Rag Rag", a CD of Zohra Lajnef which was released on the Tunesian music market.