Biography of Quentin Dujardin

Born on November 17 in Dinant (BE), city of Adolphe Sax, inventor of the saxophone. Grows up in the Condroz region in the village of Durnal, at rue Fontaine de Gore n° 8. His father is a lawyer and his mother a Latin/Greek teacher.

Begins classical guitar studies at the Conservatoire de musique de Ciney with Geneviève and Bernard Franco. He thus follows in the footsteps of his big brother, who already plays. He begins studying music theory alongside his father, Philippe and his five brothers and sisters (Vincent, Bertrand, Gauthier, Noémie & Ambroise). He immerses himself in the music of Lauro, Villa Lobos, Sor, Carulli, Bach, Barrios Mangoré and Brouwer, and listens to the great guitarists on vinyl: John Williams and Julian Bream.

Practices on his big brother’s instrument for two years, then his father gives him his first classical guitar. Becomes a choirboy and gives his first concerts as a duo with his brother Vincent at the village church. Listens on repeat to the very first CD the family bought following a visit to Bruges: Bach‘s Brandenburg Concertos.

Michèle & Philippe, his parents, regularly welcome different guitarists to the house for the Concours International Printemps de la Guitare. Artists come from all over the world. He receives lessons from Petko Genkov (Bulgaria), Humberto Gonzalez Matamoros (Cuba), Luis Mantovani Jr. (Brazil) and Chibil Benev (Bulgaria). At the same time, his mother opens the restaurant Le Val de Gore in the family home. The living room also becomes an art gallery.

Wins 1st Prize in the Edouard Bastin competition (Belgium). His father gives him a subscription to Geniuses of the Blues, an audio CD series with an encyclopedia that retraces the history of the blues. There he discovers the history of Eric Clapton, Robert Johnson, BB King, John Lee Hooker, etc. He enters the Collège de Saint-Paul in Godinne with a Latin/Greek option.

Spends all his money on his first electric guitar, an Epiphone Sheraton, and copies his first guitar solo: from Brothers in Arms by Mark Knopfler.

Discovers Philip Catherine‘s album Transparence in his father’s record library. A cassette copy plays on repeat on his Walkman. His father takes him to see his first jazz concert at the Théâtre du Residence Palace in Brussels, with Philip Catherine and Nicolas Fiszman among the other artists on stage. In the process, he decides to tune his radio every evening at 6 p.m. to Musiq3 to listen to Philippe Baron‘s jazz program. He frequents the only jazz club in the region, based in Dinant and run by Yves Beghuin. He hears Félix Simtaine, Steve Houben, Jean-François Prins, Roger Vanhaverbeke, etc. He works as a bartender there for several summers in a row listening to weekend jazz concerts for free.

Takes his first jazz and improvisation courses with Pierre van Dormael and Erwin Vann at the Académie de Jambes. He discovers Question and Answer by Pat Metheny, I Took up the Runes by Jan Garbarek, Bad Benson by George Benson, Soul Cages by Sting, The Dynamic Duo by Wes Montgomery & Jimmy Smith, Before We Were Born by Bill Frisell, L’été indien by L’Ame des poètes, Extensions by Dave Holland and Live at the Royal Festival Hall by John McLaughlin. At the same time, he receives his classical guitar diploma and perfects his knowledge of classical music history. He begins lessons in classical harmony, chamber music and organ.

Enrolls in the Académie Marcel Désiron d’Amay, studying in the jazz section with Fabien Degryse, and tries to change his vision of the guitar neck. He works hard at improvisation, rhythm and jazz harmony studies.

Completes various jazz courses with Nathalie Loriers, Bart Defoort, Pierre Vaiana, Fabien Degryse and Pirly Zustrassen.

Enters the Flemish Royal Brussels Conservatory and five years later obtains a Masters degree in jazz & light music. He takes classes from Peter Hertmans, Karl Van Deun, Kris Defoort and Diederik Wissels.

Records his first CD, La Fontaine de Gore, with Diederik Wissels, and founds the AGUA music label.

Sets off on the roads of Andalusia (Spain) to encounter flamenco and the gypsy world. He simultaneously continues his solo and duo concerts with Damien Libert across Belgium. He lives between Sacromonte de Granada, Seville, Cordoba, Jerez and his village, Durnal.

Leaves for Morocco to encounter Berber and Andalusian music. He discovers the desert on the Mauritanian border and the tribes of the Atlas. He meets the violinist Jalal El Allouli in Marrakech, with whom he records the album Khamis. This disc is produced by RTBF & Didier Mélon. Several tours follow in France, Morocco, Luxembourg, Belgium & Quebec. A TV Live concert at Théâtre 140 is broadcast on the Belgian channel La Deux.

Departure for Paraguay to better understand the extraordinary story of the Guarani composer-guitarist Augustin Marrios Mangoré, an indigenous genius. He discovers Las Ruinas Jésuiticas and becomes aware of the importance of the Jesuit humanist thinking he encountered during his high school years.

Records the album Vivre, with Ivan Paduart, Nicolas Fiszman, Jalal El Allouli, Frédéric Malempré and Stephan Lay. The same year he makes his first trip to Madagascar, where he plays with local stars: Daminazy, Remanindry, Proshely and Rasoa Kininike, among others.

Composes the soundtrack for the theatrical adaptation of the best-selling novel Monsieur Ibrahim et les Fleurs du Coran, by Eric-Emmanuel Schmitt, a collaboration with Olivier Massart, Michel Kacenelenbogen and the Théâtre Le Public in Brussels.

In Paris, meets the French director Freddy Mouchard, with whom he travels for two years through Spain, Morocco, Madagascar and the United States. The latter directs the documentary Sur le chemin, about Quentin and his way of experiencing music. He records the album Veloma with Njava, Bai Kamara Jr., Jalal El Allouli, Tuur Florizoone, Arnout Hellofs, Damien Libert and Nicolas Fiszman. Makes his first trip to New York and collaborates on the soundtrack of the publicity film, Answer the Call, with the American actor, Harrison Ford. Produces Brunoise, for Nicolas Pirillo (performing on the Hang). He begins his collaboration with the photographer Jean Mahaux.

He is invited to the World Film Festival of Tartu (Estonia) and the Film Brunch in Dresden (Germany) to present the documentary Sur le chemin. There he meets the French countertenor, Samuel Cattiau, with whom he creates the Resonance project the following year.

He records Impressioniste, alongside Toots Thielemans, at the legendary ICP Studios. This record is a tribute to his mother, Michèle, who ran Le Val de Gore, an art gallery-restaurant in the family living room. This place hosted many Belgian, French and English painters. Becomes an artist ambassador for the International Yehudi Menuhin Foundation and participates in international meetings of Tapovan (France) alongside Thierry van Roy, Iva Bittova and Matthieu Saglio. Travels to Mali, where he gets stuck in the Kalaban Coura district of Bamako waiting to retrieve his backpack, lost at the airport. There he meets Kalil Sidy Haïdara, with whom he forms the Kalaban Coura project. Together they record the album Aigabani with Jalal El Allouli, Boris Schmidt & Arnout Hellofs.

First collaboration with the American producer, Lee Townsend, at legendary Fantasy Studios in Berkeley, California, for the production of the Kalaban Coura. The disc is distributed internationally and ranked among the best blues albums of the year by World Music Charts Europe. First writing residency in Drôme (France) for the Resonance project with Samuel Cattiau. Collaborates in Tunis with the Boston String Quartet for the album Perpetual Motion, by Amine and Hamza Mraihi, with whom he records his composition Omar, dedicated to his Malian painter friend.

Birth of his daughter, Janette. Records Distances, again collaborating on the production in Berkeley with Lee Townsend. Release of the compilations Putumayo World Yoga and African Blues N° 4 (US), with the Quentin Dujardin the titles 1977 and Mali. His works opens a much wider audience on American radio. Records the single Papa Rosa with Jef Neve, Olivier Hernandez & Boris Schmidt.

Composes the soundtrack for the short film Ma Forêt, by Sébastien Pins. The film wins 14 awards and is selected at more than 400 festivals around the world. The soundtrack is awarded at the United Nations Forum on Forests (US). First French tours with Resonance. Collaborates with the Iranian singer Mahsa Vahdat, with whom he records an album alongside Nicolas Fiszman and Olivier Hernandez. This disc remains unreleased following a disagreement with the Norwegian producer of the singer.

Releases the disc Le silence des saisons. The title composition is selected for the prestigious SoundTrack_Cologne and Berlin Short Film Festival (Germany).

Composes the soundtrack for the film Compostelle, le chemin de la vie by Freddy Mouchard (FR) with Julie Mondor, and on this occasion meets the singers, Galiciennes de Ialma. He immediately signs up to produce their album Camiño. Also collaborates on the soundtrack of the film Etre by Fara Sene (France), notably with Bruno Solo and David Murgia.

Records the album Resonance in the Romanesque church of Mont-devant-Sassey (FR) with Samuel Cattiau and Matthieu Saglio, production by Thierry Van Roy. Records the disc Catharsis with Ivan Paduart, Richard Bona, Bert Joris, Olivier Ker Ourio and Manu Katché. Produces the Camiño project for the Galician singers of Ialma (Spain), with whom he gives more than 300 concerts throughout Europe and Canada.

Records the album Illuminations, with Samuel Cattiau, Matthieu Saglio, Léo Ullmann, Doron David Sherwin and Bijan Chemirani, at the Abbaye de Noirlac (France). Several tours follow in France, Belgium, Morocco, India and Holland.

Birth of his son, Aimé. Records Water & Fire with Didier Laloy and Adrien Tyberghein. They perform more than 80 concerts together. Composes the music for the short film Resonance, La Cité ardente, dedicated to the industrial heritage of the Liège Basin. This project brings together the Choeur symphonique and the Maîtrise de l’Opéra Royal de Wallonie-Liège, as well as the members of Resonance.

During confinement, he records the album 2020, with Didier Laloy, Nicolas Fiszman and Manu Katché, to celebrate the 20th anniversary of his label AGUA music.

During confinement, the Belgian government authorizes worship gatherings for up to 15 people, but prohibits gatherings in cultural spaces. To protest these absurd Covid measures, he gives a solo concert on February 14 for 15 people in the Romanesque church of Crupet. He is stopped by the police while performing his Ave Maria. Soon after, on April 27, the guitarist wins his case against the state of emergency and allows culture to officially re-open by setting a precedent for the entire profession. Releases the first EP, AGUA sessions #01, alongside Didier Laloy, Nicolas Fiszman, Adrien Tyberghein and Manu Katché. Gives several streaming concerts, notably for Julien Brocal‘s Musical Garden, as well as for the International Yehudi Menuhin Foundation at the Coudenberg Palace.

Birth of his daughter, Douce. Consecutively receives the Best Composer award at the Toronto Independent Film Festival of CIFT (CAN) and Nederland International Film Festival (US) for his original music from the film Paradisiac. His first live album is released alongside Manu Katché, Didier Laloy and Boris Schmidt. The artist also releases several singles, including Nomad and Golden Stream. He inaugurates L’Oeil du Condroz, a reception area in his garden for artists, with an outdoor stage and a residence space. To date the guitarist has given more than 1,000 concerts around the world and has collaborated with dozens of musicians, filmmakers, photographers, painters and dancers.

Creates the World Guitars Festival in his garden. This very first event attrracts more than 500 people. Records AGUA sessions #02 with Olivier Ker Ourio at L’Oeil du Condroz. Produced the original Levitation project with Gil Delogne & Erwin Vann; a unique 360° sensory and musical experience.

Release of the album Serendipity in duo with Olivier Ker Ourio and guest David Linx. The critics are unanimous about this record, which contains one of the most original versions ever recorded of Charles Mingus‘s jazz standard Goodbye Pork Pie Hat. His total work exceeds 10 million streams on the net.