Harmen Fraanje

Harmen Fraanje (born 23 January 1976 in Roosendaal, Netherlands) is a Dutch jazz pianist and composer. He currently lives in Amsterdam.

Career Harmen Fraanje is a pianist, composer, and educator from the Netherlands, currently based in Amsterdam. He leads and co-leads several projects like his solo project, trio Reijseger Fraanje Sylla, a duo with Norwegian trumpet player Arve Henriksen, a trio with Finnish musicians Aino Peltomaa on voice and Mikko Perkola on viola da gamba and effects, and a quartet with Magic Malik, Brice Soniano and Toma Gouband. These groups mostly perform original works with a lot of space for improvisation.

Harmen is also very active as a sideman in various projects in the European jazz scene, like the Mats Eilertsen Trio, Eric Vloeimans' Fugimundi trio with Anton Goudsmit, and Michael Moore's Fragile Quartet. With these projects, he frequently performs at festivals and concert venues throughout the world. Recordings of the projects he's involved in have been released by renowned record labels like ECM, Winter & Winter, Outhere Music, Hubro Music, Challenge Jazz...

Harmen collaborated with the likes of 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, Cristina Branco.

Harmen is chairman of the Jazz Piano Faculty at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam / University of the Arts Amsterdam. He is also frequently invited to give workshops and masterclasses at other European conservatories.

Honors 2004: North Sea Jazz Composition Assignment 2005: Harmen's composition Sonatala was included in the Real Book, published by Sheer Music 2006: nominated for the Paul Ackett (Bird Award), the most important awards granted by the Jazz Festival of the North Sea. 2007: Named VIP 2007 by Dutch Jazz Club. 2008: He received the award Prins Bernhard Noord Brabant Cultuurprijs.

Discography

Solo albums Within Harmen Fraanje Quartet 2004: Sonatala (Challenge Jazz)

Within Harmen Fraanje Quintet 2006: Ronja (Challenge Jazz)

Within Harmen Fraanje Trio 2010: Avalonia (Challenge Jazz), featuring Michael Moore

Collaborations Trio including Eric Vloeimans and Anton Goudsmit 2009: Live at Yoshi's (Challenge Jazz)

Within Mats Eilertsen Trio 2013: Sails Set (Hubro) 2019: And Then Comes The Night (ECM Records)

With Arve Henriksen 2024: Touah of Time (ECM Records)