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Biography
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Dutch pianist and composer Harmen Fraanje — “one of the most impressive European pianists of his generation” (All About Jazz).
Clarity is what the Dutch pianist and composer Harmen Fraanje is after: in his compositions, in his improvising, and in the piano playing itself. He works solo, in the trio Reijseger Fraanje Sylla, and in duo with Norwegian trumpeter Arve Henriksen; he also plays in groups with Mats Eilertsen and Theo Bleckmann. His recordings appear on ECM, Winter & Winter and Astropi, the label he runs with Brice Soniano and Toma Gouband. With cellist Ernst Reijseger he has composed for the films of Werner Herzog. He chairs the Jazz Piano Faculty at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam, and has received an Edison Award and the Spellemannprisen.
Harmen Fraanje is a pianist, composer and educator from the Netherlands. What drives his work, he says, is the search for clarity — in composition, in improvisation, and in the piano playing itself.
He leads and co-leads a number of groups: his solo project; the long-standing trio Reijseger Fraanje Sylla with cellist Ernst Reijseger and vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Mola Sylla; a duo with Norwegian trumpet player Arve Henriksen; The Songbird Sang with the 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 the Finnish musicians Aino Peltomaa and Mikko Perkola; and a duo with vocalist Sanem Kalfa.
As a sideman he is a familiar presence in the European jazz scene, playing with the Norwegian Mats Eilertsen Trio, Tether Trio with vocalist Theo Bleckmann and saxophonist Timo Vollbrecht, Eric Vloeimans’ Fugimundi and Michael Moore’s Fragile Quartet, and in collaboration with vocalist Pau Li Liem. Most of this music is original work, built on improvisation and close interaction.
He has performed at festivals and concert venues around the world, and the recordings he has been part of have been released by ECM Records, Winter & Winter, Outhere Music, Hubro Music, NXN Recordings (Naxos) and Challenge Jazz. With Brice Soniano and Toma Gouband he also runs Astropi, an independent label and platform built around long musical friendships — a place to release their own work and to welcome kindred voices.
Together with Ernst Reijseger he has contributed to numerous films by the filmmaker Werner Herzog, first as a performer and increasingly as a composer, among them Cave of Forgotten Dreams and The Fire Within. Their music has also been heard in installations at institutions such as the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York and the Getty Museum in Los Angeles. Harmen has written music for a range of other films and documentaries as well.
He has worked with, among others, 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 recognised as one of the leading jazz programmes in the world, and is frequently invited to give workshops and masterclasses at conservatories and music institutions throughout Europe and beyond.
His awards and distinctions include an Edison Award, the Spellemannprisen (Norwegian Grammy Award) and the Prins Bernhard Cultuurprijs. All About Jazz described him as “one of the most impressive European pianists of his generation.”
Solo
Alone at the piano, Harmen Fraanje keeps the music as open as possible, letting the moment shape the flow — original compositions, improvisations, textures and little sketches. His solo playing reflects an ongoing search for clarity: improvised music born from intuition, somehow creating its own logic. His first solo album, recorded on the wonderful grand piano of the La Buissonne studio near Avignon in the south of France, will be released on Astropi Music in February 2027.
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Reijseger Fraanje Sylla
Reijseger, Fraanje & Sylla is a trio featuring cellist Ernst Reijseger, pianist Harmen Fraanje, and vocalist/percussionist Mola Sylla. They perform original compositions that combine jazz, improvised music, and West African musical traditions, and are also known for their collaborations on film music, including several soundtracks for director Werner Herzog.
Arve Henriksen & Harmen Fraanje
Norwegian trumpeter Arve Henriksen (trumpet, voice, electronics) and Dutch pianist Harmen Fraanje found each other effortlessly in the music from their very first encounter. Their music moves between free improvisation and carefully composed themes — quietly lyrical, with plenty of space. Their debut album Touch of Time, produced by Manfred Eicher, was released on ECM in 2024 and was praised by the international press.
Mats Eilertsen Trio
The Mats Eilertsen Trio is led by Norwegian double bassist Mats Eilertsen and features fellow Norwegian Thomas Strønen on drums and Dutch pianist Harmen Fraanje on piano. Their music is spacious and lyrical, with as much room for silence as for melody. The trio recorded Elegy (Hubro, 2010), Sails Set (Hubro, 2013) and And Then Comes The Night (ECM, 2019) — awarded the Spellemannprisen, the Norwegian Grammy — and joined forces with Trio Mediæval for Memorabilia (NXN, 2020).
The Songbird Sang with Magic Malik
The Songbird Sang brings together three French musicians — flutist and vocalist Magic Malik, double bassist Brice Soniano, and percussionist Toma Gouband — with Dutch pianist Harmen Fraanje. Their music moves freely between composition and collective improvisation, with a lyrical, organic sound — not least because Toma Gouband plays stones and branches alongside his drums. Following the albums 1RDR and Nyamaropa, the group releases its new album The Songbird Sang on Astropi Music in November 2026.
Out of the Wild
Out of the Wild is a trio featuring French musicians Brice Soniano (double bass) and Toma Gouband (drums, stones) with Dutch pianist Harmen Fraanje. Flow is the heartbeat of their music: lyrical and rhythmically adventurous, drawing inspiration from nature and from cultures that live close to it — a stay with the Baka people in the rainforest of Cameroon left its traces in the music. Gouband’s stones and branches give the trio’s sound an earthy, organic quality. The trio recorded the albums Fraanje Soniano Gouband and Shades of Blue.
Anton Goudsmit & Harmen Fraanje
Guitarist Anton Goudsmit and pianist Harmen Fraanje share a musical history of over twenty-five years, from Eric Vloeimans' Fugimundi to an international quartet with Rudi Mahall and Samuel Rohrer. In this duo, Goudsmit's energetic inventiveness meets Fraanje's poetic lyricism — adventurous, full of surprising turns, and with a healthy dose of playfulness. Their first duo album will be released in January 2028, celebrated with an extensive tour of European jazz venues and festivals.
Tether Trio with Theo Bleckmann & Timo Vollbrecht
In Tether Trio, New York-based German musicians Theo Bleckmann (voice) and Timo Vollbrecht (saxophone) team up with Dutch pianist Harmen Fraanje. The rare combination of voice, saxophone and piano gives the trio a chamber music-like intimacy, unfolding through live electronics into wide, unearthly spaces, where songs and textural improvisations flow into one another. Their debut album is on its way — more news soon.
Sanem Kalfa & Harmen Fraanje
When vocalist Sanem Kalfa and pianist Harmen Fraanje started playing together, they discovered how naturally the music flowed — a real conversation, a true connection, in the now. Original compositions, miniatures, improvised statements. Their duo album, recorded at the renowned La Buissonne studio in France, will be released on Astropi Music in 2027.
Peltomaa Fraanje Perkola
Peltomaa Fraanje Perkola is a Finnish-Dutch trio featuring vocalist and medieval harpist Aino Peltomaa, viola da gamba player Mikko Perkola, and pianist Harmen Fraanje. Rooted in medieval chant and song, their music weaves together early music, jazz, Finnish folk and subtle electronics in delicate improvisations and original compositions. The trio released the albums ÆR (2021) and Komorebi (2023).
