"Els Vandeweyer is a Belgian vibraphonist, percussionist, and composer currently living in Berlin. After studying classical percussion in Antwerp and jazz vibraphone in Brussels and Oslo, Els co-founded the IMI Kollektief, whose critically acclaimed album Snug as a Gun was released on Clean Feed in 2006.

Today, Els plays regularly in Berlin, including solo performance, group improvisation, and contemporary music (including a performance of Xenakis's Rebonds b at the A L'ARME! Festival in Berlin).

In 2017, her composition Landscape, a 25-meter-long textile that functions as a mobile graphic score, was performed in Berlin as part of the Kontraklang series on contemporary music.

Past projects include a duo with Fred Van Hove, Quat (with Fred Van Hove, Paul Lovens, and Martin Blume), Andromeda Mega Express Orchstra, Pascal Niggenkemper´s Vision 7, the Serenus Zeitblom Oktett and collaborations with Hans Unstern en Real Geizt.

Recent projects are Metal Illusion (a shadow play with Rieko Okuda), Kudu (with Ignaz Schick and Klaus Kürvers), participation in the SFO- orchestra of Georg Graewe and a cooperation with Theater Zuidpool in Antwerp. With "Debut" she released her first album under her own name. (90%Wasser, 2019)"

"I am a doublebass/electricbass player currently living in Lisbon, trying to learn and play as much as I can. I'm teaching doublebass at the "Villas-Boas Jazz School" from the Hot Clube de Portugal.

Just released my first album as a leader called "Whatever It Is You're Seeking, Won't Come In The Form You're Expecting" for Sintoma Records.

Some of my projects are:

•My own band

feat. Luis Figueiredo piano ; Bruno Pedroso drums ; Ricardo Toscano sax ; Diogo Duque trumpet ; João Firmino and Afonso Pais guitar ; Luisa Sobral and Joana Espadinha vocals

•Nuno Ferreira

feat. Nuno Ferrira guitar ; Chris Kase trumpet ; João Mortagua alto sax ; Luis Cunha trombone ; Abe Rabade piano ; Joel Silva drums

•André Santos

feat. André Santos guitar ; Ricardo Toscano sax ; João Pereira drums

•João Firmino Trio

feat. João Firmino guitar ; Luis Candeias drums

•Luisa Sobral

feat. Luisa Sobral vocals ; João Salcedo piano ; Carlos Miguel drums

•Spyros Manesis Trio

feat. Spyros Manesis piano ; Kaspars Kurdeko drums

•João Firmino 5tet

feat. João Firmino guitar ; Desiderio Lazaro sax ; Oscar Graça piano ; Luis Candeias drums

•Mariana Norton

feat. Mariana Norton vocals ; Bruno Santos guitar ; Oscar Graça piano ; Luis Candeias drums

•Bruno Santos Ensemble

feat. Bruno Santos guitar ; Rodrigo Gonçalves piano ; Luis Candeias drums ; Jorge Reis alt/soprano sax ; Cesar Cardoso tenor sax ; Paulo Gaspar bass clarinete ; Gonçalo Marques trumpet ; Luis Cunha trombone ; Mariana Norton vocals.

I was born on a cold January 1986 morning in Lisbon...

Piano was my first try to get in touch with music when I was a kid living in the countryside of Alentejo but soon I found out that this was not my instrument but something else. It wasn't until my 16th easter that I got my first electric bass as a gift. A gift that changed my future as nothing else did before.

During this period I studied with Gregg Moore and Miguel Amado who taught me the fundamentals of electric bass playing as well as the masters of this instrument, but as soon as I finished High School I moved back to Lisbon to study jazz in the Hot Clube de Portugal "Luis Villas-Boas Jazz School".

When I turned 20 I found out that I couldn't express what I wanted with an electric bass and so I decided to learn double bass with Nelson Cascais as a teacher.

One year later I moved to Holland to study in the Amsterdam Conservatory, with 3 great teachers: Franz van der Hoeven, Arnold Dooyawerd and Ernst Glerum and I graduated in June 2010 with 9 out of 10.

During the period I studied in Amsterdam I got the 3rd Prize in the "Bucharest International Jazz Competition" and went to the semi-finals of the "Keep an Eye Jazz Award 2009" - nothing really came out of it, but I met some great people on the way. Recently I won the "Premio Jovens Musicos 2011" jazz combo category with Ricardo Toscano Quartet.

I had the opportunity to play in some major jazz Festivals around the world like London Jazz Festival (UK), Cully Jazz (switzerland) , Den Hague Jazz Festival, Jazz Ahead (germany) IJ Jazz Festival, Breda Jazz Festival, Meer Jazz festival, Trytone Jazz Festival, (Holland), Festival Internacional de Jazz de Barcelona, Festival de Jazz de Cartagena, Europa Fest (Romania), Sudoeste TMN, CoolJazzFest, Festa de Jazz do S.Luis, Festival de Valado dos Frades, Jazz no Castelo, Seixal Jazz (Portugal).

I had the pleasure to learn with John Clayton, Larry Grenadier, Reuben Rogers, Ben Street and Clemens Van der Feen.

I'm currently beeing taught by Alejandro Oliva."