Harmen Fraanje is a pianist, composer and educator from the Netherlands. He leads and co-leads several projects, including his solo project, the long-standing trio Reijseger Fraanje Sylla with cellist Ernst Reijseger and vocalist/multi-instrumentalist Mola Sylla, a duo with Norwegian trumpet player Arve Henriksen, The Songbird Sang with French musicians Magic Malik (flute), Brice Soniano (bass) and Toma Gouband (percussion), the trio Out of the Wild, a duo with guitarist Anton Goudsmit, a trio with Finnish musicians Aino Peltomaa and Mikko Perkola, and a duo with vocalist Sanem Kalfa.
Harmen is also highly active as a sideman in the European jazz scene, performing with projects such as the Norwegian Mats Eilertsen Trio, Tether Trio with vocalist Theo Bleckmann and saxophonist Timo Vollbrecht, Eric Vloeimans’ Fugimundi and Michael Moore’s Fragile Quartet, as well as collaborations with vocalist Pau Li Liem. These groups mostly perform original works with a strong focus on improvisation and musical interaction.
Throughout his career, both as a leader and sideman, Harmen has performed at festivals and concert venues around the world. Recordings of projects he has been involved in have been released by renowned labels including ECM Records, Winter & Winter, Outhere Music, Hubro Music, NXN Recordings (Naxos), and Challenge Jazz.
Together with cellist Ernst Reijseger, Harmen has composed and performed music for numerous films by internationally acclaimed filmmaker Werner Herzog, including Cave of Forgotten Dreams and The Fire Within. Their music has also been featured in installations at institutions such as the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York and the Getty Museum in Los Angeles. Harmen has also composed music for several other films and documentaries by other filmmakers.
Harmen has collaborated with artists including Ambrose Akinmusire, Mark Turner, Kenny Wheeler, Arve Henriksen, Thomas Morgan, Tony Malaby, Han Bennink, Ernst Reijseger, Trygve Seim, Jesse van Ruller, Magic Malik, Nelson Veras, Theo Bleckmann, Ben Monder, Enrico Rava, Werner Herzog, Trio Mediaeval, Hein van de Geyn, Perico Sambeat, Igor Roma, Louis Moholo, Ferenc Kovács, Rudi Mahall and Cristina Branco.
Harmen is chairman of the Jazz Piano Faculty at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam / Amsterdam University of the Arts, internationally recognized as one of the leading jazz programs worldwide. He is also frequently invited to give workshops and masterclasses at leading conservatories and music institutions throughout Europe and beyond.
The internationally acclaimed platform All About Jazz described Harmen Fraanje as “one of the most impressive European pianists of his generation.”
Harmen has received several major awards and distinctions, including an Edison Award, the Spellemannprisen (Norwegian Grammy Award), and the Prins Bernhard Cultuurprijs.