Fotoverslag | Margaux Vranken Night - River Jazz Festival 2026

Cristina Vergara
17 uur geleden
3 minuten om te lezen

The closing night of the River Jazz Festival once again lived up to its name. The festival’s title comes from the Maelbeek, the small river that historically runs through Brussels along roughly the same path linking the festival’s three partner venues: Jazz Station, Le Senghor, and Théâtre Marni. On this final night, with Margaux Vranken invited to perform in all three venues, the idea of a musical “river” flowing across the city became very concrete. As a photographer, I tried to follow that current on foot from stage to stage, at least until an unfortunate encounter with Brussels’ cobblestones forced me to continue the journey by bus.

The evening began at Jazz Station with a duet format with her co-artist and husband Lior Tzemach, in a warm and cosy atmosphere, even marking the birthday of Lior. The repertoire moved fluidly between standards and original material, from How Deep Is the Ocean and September in the Rain to an original composition titled Untitled. A guitar-led introduction to Taking a Chance on Love added a welcome swing before the lyrical My Romance, circling around the evening’s recurring theme of love. The set closed with a nod to bebop, ending with a Charlie Parker contrafact.

At Le Senghor, Margaux was accompanied by the voice of Vanessa Matthys, and other artists like Victor Foulon and Fred Malempré, together with the string quartet Praise of Folly. There, the mood leaned further into romance and storytelling. It’s a Good Day to Fall in Love opened the set with lightness, followed by Constellations, one of Vranken’s own compositions from her debut album, written as a tribute to women and their connections. The classic Someone to Watch Over Me was one of my favourites, with Vanessa's Matthys voice adding a softness and subtility to the whole performance.

By the time the audience gathered at Théâtre Marni, the final chapter of the night turned celebratory with a full stage gathering even more talent with Joachim Iannelo at the violin, Antoine Pierre at the drums, Thibault Dille at keyboards, and again with the presence of Victor Foulon, Fred Malempré and Lior. The music shifted toward groove and collective energy, ending the festival with a lively funk-infused finale, a fitting close to a night that had quite literally travelled across the city.

Full disclosure: concert photography in Brussels can occasionally be hazardous. Between venues, one of the city’s less-than-perfectly maintained cobblestone sidewalks proved treacherous; a hole in the pavement sent me straight to the ground, landing hard on my knee and hand. Fortunately, the show, and the photographer, went on. I still made it to the final concerts, and the team at Marni was kind enough to provide ice and even a recovery meal, proving once again that the jazz community takes care of its own.

If I could make one small wish after documenting this year’s festival, it would be directed to lighting technicians: please, a little less magenta on stage. Purple too, perhaps, but especially magenta. It may look dramatic in the room, but through a camera lens it can be unforgiving, often turning the stage into a sea of difficult colours. For photographers trying to capture the nuance of a performance, a more balanced palette can make all the difference in preserving the atmosphere of these remarkable nights of music.