Jazz in Belgium

The history of jazz in Belgium starts with the Dinant instrument maker Adolphe Sax, whose saxophone became part of military bands in New Orleans around 1900 and would develop into the jazz instrument par excellence. From then on the early history of jazz in Belgium virtually runs parallel to developments in the country of the birth of jazz, from the minstrel shows in the late 19th century until the first Belgian jazz album in 1927 and beyond.

Two important people in Belgium largely influenced the development of jazz in those early years: Félix-Robert Faecq and Robert Goffin.

The Belgian jazz history yielded many internationally known jazz musicians and composers such as the harmonica player and guitarist Toots Thielemans, guitarist Philip Catherine and the gypsy jazz guitarist Django Reinhardt.

The time before jazz developed was recognized as an individual style (1850–1900) and is now commonly known as the Pre-Jazz period. In this period of the Minstrels, the end of the 19th century, the first recording techniques emerged, which was very important for jazz and for music in general. In 1877 Thomas Alva Edison developed the phonograph, which one year later was presented at an exposition in Brussels, in the 'Panopcticum de Monsieur Castan'. Belgium, however, had no recording studios of its own and therefore the spread of pre-jazz music for a long time (until after the First World War) relied on foreign record labels such as "Colombia", "Zonophone" and "Favorite".

Another invention which to a large extent contributed to the development of jazz music was Adolphe Sax's new instrument. By 1890 saxophones in the United States were made by the Conn and Buescher companies, and Belgian virtuoso saxophonists such as Jean Moermans of Sousa's Orchestra ensured the growing popularity of the instrument. The saxophone quickly became the symbol of a new music genre that emerged gradually by the end of the 19th century. Belgian musicians were among the first to make recordings of saxophone solos in America. Eugene Coffin, for example, made recordings on wax cylinders (1895–1896) and Jean Moermans on gramophone record in Washington D.C. (1897).

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