From a distance a big band, zoomed in an eccentric orchestra that walks the line between colorful surrealism and practical ingenuity. Since 1999, Flat Earth Society has been regarded as one of the most idiosyncratic and boundary-pushing bands in Belgian jazz. In the tradition of maverick composers like Charles Mingus, Sun Ra and Frank Zappa, no two FES concerts are ever the same.

‘It’s not a big band, it’s not a brass band, it’s a gang’, Toots Thielemans once said in admiration about FES. In 2026 the new album Missa Asinorum will be released, featuring brand new compositions by FES founders Peter Vermeersch and Peter Vandenberghe. This album explores length, endless repetition, refinement and renewal: music as a circular movement, always in transit, never truly complete.

‘They play with contrarian spirit, humor and an open mind… sometimes ear-caressing, other times dryly comic’ de Volkskrant

Peter Vermeersch clarinet, Martí Melià clarinet, Bruno Vansina saxophone, Benjamin Boutreur saxophone, Sylvain Debaisieux saxophone, Bart Maris trumpet, Pauline Leblond trumpet, Peter Delannoye trombone, Marc Meeuwissen trombone, Berlinde Deman tuba, Peter Vandenberghe piano, Maarten Flamand guitar, Wim Segers vibraphone, Cyrille Obermüller double bass, Gert-Jan Dreessen drums