Jazz With Robin Verheyen Quartet

Southampton Arts Center (SAC) and Hamptons Jazz Fest present the final artist in the Winter Jazz Series on Saturday, May 13, at 7 p.m. with a concert by Robin Verheyen Quartet at SAC.

Robin Verheyen first started lessons on the saxophone at age 12. He won the prestigious Django d’Or prize at age 25. He has called a variety of cities his home (Turnhout, Amsterdam, Paris, New York). One can definitely say that he has a focused approach to his career.

Born in Turnhout in 1983, Verheyen first studied for three years in Belgium, then two years in the Netherlands, and one year as an honor student (“dean’s list”) at the Manhattan School of Music with Dave Liebman, Steve Slagle, Frank Vaganée, Jasper Blom, Ferdinand Povel, Dick Oatts and John Ruocco. He ended his musical study with honors in Amsterdam.

In 2005 Verheyen moved to Paris for a year where he played in bands led by Giovanni Falzone, Remi Vignolo, Nelson Veras, and Bruno Angelini. In Paris he met the Finnish pianist Aki Rissanen with whom he’s been working since in their duo and trio with drummer Markku Ounaskari. They recorded a CD together called “Semplice” that was released in 2009 on Alba Records. In 2013 they released the trio album “Aleatoric” on Eclipse Music.

In 2006 Verheyen moved to New York. There he has played and recorded with the Pascal Niggenkemper Trio, as well as the bands of Nicolas Letman-Burtinovic, Dan Loomis, Charnett Moffett, Jesse Stacken, Michael Bates, and more. In 2008 he recorded the CD “Andarta” on Origin Records with Grammy award-winner Roy Hargrove and the Roy Assaf/Eddy Khaimovich Quartet.

He also co-leads the band Narcissus with Flin van Hemmen, Clemens van der Feen and Jozef Dumoulin with whom he has released two albums for the label W.E.R.F. since their early beginnings in 2004.

Doors open for the show at 6:30 p.m. followed by the concert at 7 p.m. Tickets are $35 ($30 members/$15 students) at southamptonartscenter.org. Southampton Arts Center is at 25 Jobs Lane, Southampton.