Interview with Hanne De Backer about “Groundspeed”

Belgian baritone saxophonist Hanne De Backer moves fluidly between improvisation, performance art and site-specific creation, shaping projects that challenge both musical form and social space. From her early background in theater to the evolving work of the g a b b r o collective, her practice confronts unexpected locations – prisons, coastlines, volcanic landscapes – with uncompromising sonic exploration. In this conversation with Musica Jazz, De Backer reflects on mentorship and physicality, extended techniques and breath, artistic responsibility and the restless search for new collective vocabularies. What first drew you to the baritone saxophone? Before studying music, I had a very short career in theater actually. I studied acting at the theaterschool in Antwerp and after four years I got my master’s degree but not much of a future. It was hard to find work and get auditions… Out of necessity I started giving theater classes in a music school […]