NEW ALBUM:
Blame It on My Chromosomes
2025 release tour:
7 Feb – Flagey, Brussels
14 Feb – Bijloke, Gent
16 Feb – De Casino, Sint-Niklaas
21 Feb – De Roma, Antwerpen
27 Feb – KC Nona, Mechelen
15 Mar – De Spil, Roeselare
16 Mar – KAAP, Oostende
23 Mar – Leuven Jazz
27 Mar – CC Hasselt
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.”
Born (1990) and raised in West Flanders, Koo began his musical journey as a classical piano prodigy at the age of five. In his teens, he also developed a passion for jazz and improvisation, earning praise from some of the world’s biggest icons, including Kurt Elling, Kenny Werner, and Brad Mehldau.
Fueled by his musical curiosity, Koo pursued inspiration and growth abroad, studying at the Conservatories of Amsterdam, Copenhagen, and New York University (Steinhardt) on a full scholarship, where he also served as an adjunct professor.
His 2019 album, Appleblueseagreen, which sits at the intersection of acoustic chamber music, jazz, and film music, featured renowned musicians Mark Turner and Ralph Alessi. The album was selected as one of Downbeat Jazz Magazine’s Best Albums of 2019.
Koo’s admiration for his classical heroes—Chopin, Debussy, Messiaen, Reich, and Rachmaninov—is evident in his most recent solo piano project, Etudes for Piano (W.E.R.F. Records, 2023), commissioned by BOZAR Brussels. Etudes was praised as “an intriguing blend of classical and jazz, where the name Keith Jarrett often comes to mind. Not because Koo’s playing resembles that of the American master, but because it is of the same rare high level” (Trouw).
In his Alex Koo Trio, he is joined by drum icon Dré Pallemaerts (Toots Thielemans, Melanie de Biasio, Stéphane Belmondo, Bert Joris) and bass virtuoso Lennart Heyndels (Jef Neve, Ben Sluijs, Kaja Draksler). This Belgian trio guarantees adventurous compositions, hypnotic improvisations, and dynamic interplay.
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).
Alex Koo – piano & compositions
Dré Pallemaerts – drums
Lennart Heyndels – double bass
