Peter van Huffel (born September 6, 1978 in

Kingston Kingston may refer to: Places * List of places called Kingston, including the five most populated: ** Kingston, Jamaica ** Kingston upon Hull, England ** City of Kingston, Victoria, Australia ** Kingston, Ontario, Canada ** Kingston upon Thames, ...

, Ontario) is a Canadian jazz saxophonist, clarinetist and

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Defi ...

based in Berlin.

Biography

Van Huffel grew up in Kingston, Ontario. He first learned to play the

clarinet The clarinet is a musical instrument in the woodwind family. The instrument has a nearly cylindrical bore and a flared bell, and uses a single reed to produce sound. Clarinets comprise a family of instruments of differing sizes and pitches ...

at the age of twelve, but switched to the

alto saxophone The alto saxophone is a member of the saxophone family of woodwind instruments. Saxophones were invented by Belgian instrument designer Adolphe Sax in the 1840s and patented in 1846. The alto saxophone is pitched in E, smaller than the B tenor ...

at the age of 13. In 1997, he attended Humber College in Toronto, where he studied jazz under

Pat LaBarbera Pat (Pascel Emmanuel) LaBarbera (born April 7, 1944) is an American-born Canadian jazz tenor, alto and soprano saxophonist, clarinetist, and flautist born in Mt. Morris, New York, most notable for his work as a soloist in Buddy Rich bands fr ...

and Don Thompson, and graduated from in 2001. His music career also began in Toronto. From 2002 to 2008, he lived in New York City. He earned a master's degree from the

Manhattan School of Music The Manhattan School of Music (MSM) is a private music conservatory in New York City. The school offers bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees in the areas of classical and jazz performance and composition, as well as a bachelor's in mu ...

. During this time, he made a name for himself in the local jazz scene and performed alongside jazz musicians Chris Potter,

Clarence Penn Clarence Lacquese Penn (born March 2, 1968) is an American jazz drummer and composer. Early life Penn was born in Detroit on March 2, 1968.Kennedy, Gary W"Clarence Penn" ''The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz'' (2nd edition). Grove Music Online. Oxf ...

and Donny McCaslin. He released his first independent album ''Mind Over Matter'' in 2003. He released the album of ''On Common Ground'' in 2005 and the album ''Silvester Battlefield'' in 2007 by the "Peter van Huffel Quintet". In 2008, he moved to Berlin. He cooperated, among other things, with his then-wife, the Belgian vocalist

Sophie Tassignon Sophie Tassignon (born 1980 in Brussels, Belgium) is a Belgian jazz singer, improvisational musician (vocals) and composer based in Berlin since 2008. Biography Tassignon, who spent part of her childhood in Germany, received her first ...

, the Canadian-Ukrainian guitarist Alex Maksymiw, German guitarist Andreas Willers and German batterist Oliver Steidle. In 2008, he released the album ''Hufflignon'' with Sophie Tassignon, bassist Michael Bates and trombonist Samuel Blaser. He formed the

punk jazz Punk jazz is a genre of music that combines elements of jazz, especially improvisation, with the instrumentation and performance style of punk rock. The term was first used to describe James Chance and the Contortions' 1979 album ''Buy''. Punk ...

trio "Gorilla Mask" with the German bassist Roland Fidezius and the German drummer Rudi Fischerlehner in 2009. He released five albums by "Gorilla Mask", with ''HOWL!'' being the first in 2012, followed by four albums on the Portuguese label Clean Feed Records. In 2009, he formed the "Peter van Huffel Quartet" with Jesse Stacken, Miles Perkin and German batterist Samuel Rohre, and released their album ''Like the Rusted Key'' in 2010 on Fresh Sound/New Talent Records.

Discography

* 2003: Peter Van Huffel ''Mind Over Matter'' (PVH Records) * 2005: Peter Van Huffel Quintet 566 ''On Common Ground'' (PVH Records) * 2007: Animal Forum (Peter Van Huffel/Samuel Blaser/Ziv Ravitz) ''Animal Forum'' (ZPS) * 2007: Peter van Huffel Quintet (Peter Van Huffel/Scott DuBois/Jesse Stacken/Michael Bates/Jeff Davis) ''Silvester Battlefield'' (

Fresh Sound New Talent Fresh Sound, or Fresh Sound New Talent, is a jazz record label established in Barcelona, Spain, by Jordi Pujol. The label was initially founded as a reissue label. The catalog includes work by musicians both major and minor that was recorded be ...

) * 2008: Peter van Huffel/

''Hufflignon'' ( Clean Feed Records) * 2010: Peter van Huffel Quartet (Peter van Huffel/Jesse Stacken/Miles Perkin/Samuel Rohrer) ''Like the Rusted Key'' (Fresh Sound New Talent) * 2012: Gorilla Mask (Peter van Huffel/Roland Fidezius/Rudi Fischerlehner) ''HOWL!'' (Between the Lines) * 2013: House of Mirrors (Peter van Huffel/Sophie Tassignon/Julie Sassoon/Miles Perkin) ''Act One'' ( WismART) * 2014: Boom Crane (Peter van Huffel/Michael Bates/Jeff Davis) ''Boom Crane'' (Fresh Sound New Talent) * 2014: Gorilla Mask (Peter van Huffel/Roland Fidezius/Rudi Fischerlehner) ''Bite My Blues'' (Clean Feed Records) * 2015: The Scrambling Ex (Peter van Huffel/Andreas Willers/Oliver Steidle) ''The Scrambling Ex'' (

FMR Records FMR Records is a British record label. Founded by Trevor Taylor in 1987, it specialises in jazz and improvised music. Origins Taylor is a drummer and percussionist who became increasingly interested in avant garde music. In the early 1970s he ...

) * 2016: KRONIX (Peter van Huffel/Alex Maksymiw) ''KRONIX'' (Fresh Sound New Talent) * 2017: Gorilla Mask (Peter van Huffel/Roland Fidezius/Rudi Fischerlehner) ''Iron Lung'' (Clean Feed Records) * 2019: Gorilla Mask (Peter van Huffel/Roland Fidezius/Rudi Fischerlehner) ''Brain Drain'' (Clean Feed Records) * 2022: Gorilla Mask (Peter van Huffel/Roland Fidezius/Rudi Fischerlehner) ''Mind Raid'' (Clean Feed Records)

References

External links

Official website
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Van Huffel, Peter 1978 births Living people 20th-century Canadian male musicians 21st-century Canadian male musicians Canadian jazz saxophonists Canadian jazz clarinetists Canadian jazz composers Musicians from Kingston, Ontario Canadian people of Flemish descent Humber College alumni Manhattan School of Music alumni Canadian expatriates in Germany