Greg Houben (trumpet, vocals), Sam Gerstmans (bass), Quentin Liégeois (guitar)
 
There is a new generation of jazz musicians, who are 30 years old or a little older, that are keeping their ears open for the whole of jazz history.   Chet Baker, who also preferred playing in trios, is one of the main inspirations for this group. Besides this influence, the trio has found its own voice full of personal compositions and sincere emotions.
 
Houben, Gerstmans and Liégeois play without a drummer, which is a risk. A drummer is capable of pumping up the temperature and intensity.  This results in the melody coming first and being supported by a bass player who makes sure everything fits beautifully together. Audiences may have memories of the brilliant trio formed by Chet Baker, Jean-Louis Rassinfosse and Philip Catherine at the beginning of the eighties.
 
On ‘How Deep is the Ocean’, the first CD of the Greg Houben Trio, they play both original compositions and covers of standards like ‘Daybreak’ and ‘For Minors Only’.  It can be said that an original composition like ‘I’m a Good Time Guy’  sounds like a classic standard.  It’s while playing standards that the trio performs at a prime level and often sounds very cutting edge, just like Chet Baker would have liked it.  The comparison with Baker is also emphasized by the fact that Greg Houben sings in a very easy, natural way.
 
“It’s jazz of yesterday and today.  It’s jazz where emotion and melody aren’t pushed aside in favor of technical skills and abstract compositional methods.  In short, it’s jazz.”, said Jean-Paul Schroeder, director of the Jazzmuseum in Liège about this trio.
 
Greg Houben is the son of the famous saxophone- and flute-player Steve Houben.  As a young man Greg tried out different tvocations, lived in Brazil for a year and then decided to dedicate his life to music. He is currently studying at the conservatory in Maastricht and in Brussels with Richard Rousselet.  It was there that the trumpeter and vocalist met Quentin Liégeois.  Gregory enjoys singing as well as performing with the trumpet and  also works on projects for theater.  Greg Houben plays in an intense yet soft manner and has a sober and recognizable sonority.
 
Quentin Liégeois is an elegant guitar-player with a fluent style. He excels in accompanying other players and has excellent feeling for building solos.  Quentin had discovered the guitar when he was six and had  classical training.  Later, Quentin discovered rock and after that, jazz.  He’s graduating from the Brussels conservatory. The guitarist has played with Philip Catherine, Toots Thielemans, Nathalie Loriers, Joe Higham and numerous others.  Quentin won the Django d’Or for young talent in 2009.
 
Sam Gerstmans is a smooth and physical bass-player.  He can hold the rhythm and is as solid as a house.  Sam started playing the violin when he was six but discovered the electric bass and jazz a little while later.  Just like Quentin, this bassist is graduating from the Brussels conservatory, where he studied under Jean-Louis Rassinfosse.  Sam plays bass in several bands, among others  Phil Abraham and Manu Hermia.  He also plays Brazilian music and works on several theater projects.