Mania

Elly Brouckmans is currently in the spotlight as one of the ‘De Twintigers’ of radio station Klara. Later this year, she will graduate from the Koninklijk Conservatorium Brussel. For her final project, she is expanding her band Mania with three unique voices from the Brussels jazz scene. From an introspective search for harmony and timbre, Elly Brouckmans discovered the music of the French impressionists last year. Inspired by their sound world, she went looking for ways to weave this texture into her own musical language. The result is the expansion of her regular quartet Mania with vocalists Hsuan-Hui Fang, Marta Frigo, and Caro Verheyen, who will perform together as a three-part choir. Thus, two seemingly divergent worlds meet, and space is created for both contrast and fusion. The whole thing is christened ‘The Sweet Suite’: a musical arc consisting of impressionistic colors, playful rhythms, and layered melodies. Elly Brouckmans was born in 1998 and is an alto and baritone saxophonist. She is based in Brussels, where she is active as a freelance musician. Through her father, she came into contact with jazz and big band music at a young age, and her love for the genre soon grew. She played in large orchestras from childhood, a passion she still cherishes today with ensembles such as the Hnita Big Band, the Brussels Jazz Orchestra, and the VRT Bigband. After obtaining a bachelor's degree in jazz at LUCA School of Arts in Leuven in 2023, she continued her studies at the Koninklijk Conservatorium Brussel. In the vibrant Brussels jazz scene, she met pianist Yarno Hoedemakers, double bassist Toon Rumen, and percussionist Umberto Odone in 2023. A first, almost magical playing session immediately felt like coming home. Based on that shared link, they decided to continue together under the name Mania – a nod to their shared obsession for deep grooves, musical dialogue, and intense playing pleasure. Mania was selected in 2026 as a laureate for the international talent development program Propulsion Jazz. Mania will play two sets in the Hnita-Hoeve: one as a quartet, and one as a septet, with expansion by the three vocalists.