“Isn’t it gorgeous.” – Tom Ravenscott – BBC Radio 6
“Contemplative yet lively, peace-seeking but intense, contrasts abound as Koo embraces jazz’s freedom of expression without forsaking technique” –Mojo – ★★★★
“One of the special pleasures of listening to jazz in the 2020s is hearing lineages that surprise. Those thoughts recurred in listening to the latest from Belgian/Japanese pianist Alex Koo. His distinctive blend of jazz, neoclassical, ambient and minimalism is built on a solid foundation of contemporary jazz romanticism.” – DownBeat – ★★★★
“Koo ist mehr als eine Kombination der erweiterten Piano Jazz Story um Evans, Jarrett, Mehldau, Moran, Iverson und so weiter. Koo ist Koo, bitte bleib so!” – Concerto – ★★★★★
“Heerlijk album van een toptalent” – De Standaard – ★★★★
“Blame It On My Chromosones’ is van zeer hoog niveau en absolute wereldklasse.” – Written In Music – ★★★★ 1/2
“Un album qui restera déjà comme un des meilleurs de 2025” – Le Soir – ★★★★
Alex Koo – piano & vocals
Dré Pallemaerts – drums
Lennart Heyndels – double bass
Ambrose Akinmusire – trumpet (* 1 , 9)
-TICKETS-
7 Feb – Flagey, Brussels [sold out]
14 Feb – Bijloke, Gent [sold out]
16 Feb – De Casino, Sint-Niklaas
21 Feb – De Roma, Antwerpen
27 Feb – Nova Express, Mechelen [sold out]
15 Mar – De Spil, Roeselare
16 Mar – KAAP, Oostende [last tickets]
23 Mar – 30CC, Leuven Jazz
27 Mar – CC Hasselt Piano Days
27 Apr – Bimhuis, Amsterdam
28 Apr – Duc des Lombards, Paris
‘ When listening, Keith Jarrett’s name came to mind several times. Not because Koo’s playing is similar to that of the American master, but because it is of the same exceptionally high level. ’ – Trouw
‘ Fabulous technique, sounding downright genius at times ’ – London Jazz News
BIO
Son of a Belgian missionary sent to Japan in the seventies and a Japanese peace activist, pianist and composer Alex Koo refuses to be boxed into any traditional category. As the renowned German Jazzthetik magazine put it, “Alex Koo defies categorization.”
Praised as “stunningly original” (Downbeat Jazz Magazine), Koo is known for creating music that transcends genre boundaries, blending jazz, indie, contemporary classical and film music with innovative freedom. A native of rural West-Flanders, Belgium, he began his musical journey as a classical piano prodigy at the age of five. In his teens, he developed a passion for jazz and improvisation, earning praise from jazz legends such as Kurt Elling, Kenny Werner, and Brad Mehldau. Koo has even been described as “of the same rare high level as Keith Jarrett” (Trouw). His 2019 album, Appleblueseagreen, featuring Mark Turner and Ralph Alessi, was included in Downbeat’s Best Albums of the Year.
His upcoming album Blame It on My Chromosomes, releasing on Feb 7th 2025 (W.E.R.F. records), features his long standing trio with Dré Pallemaerts on drums (Toots Thielemans, Melanie de Biasio, Stéphane Belmondo, Bert Joris), and Lennart Heyndels on double bass (Jef Neve, Ben Sluijs, Kaja Draksler), representing the very best of the Belgian jazz scene. Their intuitive chemistry and artistry are the driving force behind the new album’s emotive power, with special guest Ambrose Akinmusire adding a transcendent layer on two standout tracks.
Alex has an impressive list of prestigious awards to his name, including a first prize at the Prinses Christina Concours (NL), a B-Jazz Award for Best Composition (BE), a Fulbright Award (US/BE), a BAEF Award (US/BE), and a Prins Bernhard Cultuurfondsprijs (NL). Additionally, he was already winning awards at the age of ten at the Cantabile Concours for classical piano, where he also received two additional distinctions: the “Emmanuel Durlet” Prize for the best interpretation of the compulsory piece and the “Chris Van Hoof” Prize for the youngest laureate. Currently, Alex is professor of jazz piano at the LUCA School of Arts in Leuven, Belgium (Lemmens Conservatory).