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Fred Van Hove

From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist

Fred Van Hove was a Belgian jazz musician and a pioneer of European free jazz. He was born on 19 February 1937 in Antwerp and died on 13 January 2022. He was a pianist, accordionist, church organist, carillonneur and composer, and worked mainly with improvisation. At first it did not look as if he would end up in jazz: he took twelve years of classical lessons at the Merksem Music Academy in theory, harmony and piano. A performance in 1960 at the Lazy River Jazz Festival in Kortrijk nevertheless led him to jazz, and he played in Mike Zinzen's ensemble.

Music and breakthrough

From 1966 he played in the quartets and sextets of the saxophonist Peter Brötzmann, including on Machine Gun from 1968. After that he formed a trio with Brötzmann and the Dutch drummer Han Bennink. In Antwerp he founded the WIM Bigband, WIM standing for Werkgroep Improviserende Musici (Working Group of Improvising Musicians), and later Musica Libera Antverpiae and the Pistri Ensemble. On albums such as Balls from 1970 and Tschüs from 1975 he presented his own work, and he also became known as a soloist. He also played in duos with Steve Lacy, Lol Coxhill, Albert Mangelsdorff and Vinko Globokar, among others.

Influence

Van Hove wrote music for film and theatre, taught in Berlin and gave workshops in Germany, France, England, Belgium and the Netherlands. In 1996 the Flemish government appointed him Cultural Ambassador of Flanders. He shows that European free jazz had a scene of its own, independent of the American examples.

Listening

Listening tip. Listen to a recording of the trio with Peter Brötzmann and Han Bennink and notice how Van Hove's piano often works as a second rhythm instrument. Try to hear who leads the conversation.

Discography

Studio albums

In School of Rock

The chapters, maps and magazine stories of School of Rock are currently available in Dutch only.

Categories: Artists