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Belgian vibraphonist Els Vandeweyer began her musical career on the classical path, focusing on contemporary pieces while studying at a performing arts school in Antwerp, but when she noticed how many pieces simulated the feel of improvised music she yearned to play the real thing. She decided to study jazz at the Royal Conservatory of Brussels, where she’s still enrolled, but for the last two years she’s had the best sort of musical lessons, playing in real life situations. She’s spent time in Oslo, working sporadically with some of the scene’s most important figures—including Kjetil Moster, Ingebrigt Haaker Flaten, Havard Wiik, and Paal Nilssen-Love—and in Lisbon, hanging out in the record shop Trem Azul, which is owned by the same fellow who runs the increasingly important Clean Feed label.
Today’s playlist:
