Bands
Milan Verbist Trio
Milan surrounds himself with a rhythm section consisting of Toon Rumen (°2001, BE) on double bass and Jens Meijer (°1996, NL) on drums. Their repertoire consists of Milan's own compositions, as well as compositions by musicians who inspire them, and Milan's own arrangements and interpretations of the broader jazz repertoire. The trio's musicians got to know each other during jam sessions and at the Conservatory. Since then, the trio has played some 30 concerts and made recordings. Milan's first album "Time Change" was released on September 19, 2025 on Origin Records (USA).
Booking: milanverbist1@gmail.com
The Spitz (FR/US/BE/DE/IT)
The Spitz is an international jazz quintet of young, promising musicians from Europe and the United States. The band members met during an international jazz meeting in New York City in 2022. What began as a first musical encounter grew into a lasting connection. With a Frenchman, an American, a German, an Italian and a Belgian, the line-up may sound like the beginning of a joke, but on stage this international group forms a tight and adventurous whole.
During a residency at De Singer (Rijkevorsel, BE) in February 2026, the band worked intensively for a full week on new music by all members. Their repertoire is rooted in jazz, with room for a wide range of influences and a strong focus on collective interaction and improvisation. The band plays with a direct, energetic approach in which contemporary jazz takes shape through intense ensemble playing and interaction.
Line-up
Sandro Torsiello — tenor saxophone (FR)
Alexander Baboian — guitar (US)
Milan Verbist — piano (BE)
Mario Angelov — double bass (DE)
Egidio Gentile — drums (IT)
Booking: milanverbist1@gmail.com
Verbist/Baars/Lagatie
The trio met each other at the Royal Conservatoire in Antwerp in 2020, where they had lessons together with teacher Kurt Van Herck. The repertoire consists of originals by all band members, as well as jazz standards and songs by composers like Bill Evans, Kenny Wheeler, Keith Jarrett, Herbie Hancock, Bert Joris and others. The band's focus lies on interplay within groove, swing, and free improvisation, but with a lot of attention for melody and space. They played concerts at the Jazz in Thals festival, Rataplan, Jazz at Felix, Arts Centre Kaleidoscoop... as well as Milan Verbist's graduation concert in DeSingel. In February, the band recorded a concert video at Studio Toots (VRT) as part of Milan's selection for 'De Twintigers' by Klara.
Booking: milanverbist1@gmail.com
Verbist - Verbist
Milan Verbist - piano
Piet Verbist - double bass
Piet Verbist ('61) & Milan Verbist ('99), father and son, have been playing together at home since Milan was a kid. They started playing concerts together in 2019. Besides playing as a duo, they are joined by other musicians in different line-ups. Their repertoire mainly consists of their own compositions, and repertoire from the modal and post-bop idiom: compositions by John Coltrane, McCoy Tyner, Joe Henderson, Thelonious Monk, Don Pullen & George Adams...
Booking: milanverbist1@gmail.com
Milan is also the pianist of Piet's 'Flamenco Jazz Summit' (with 3 Andalusian and 3 Belgian musicians) and 'Flamenco Jazz Unit' (the smaller version with 4 Belgian musicians).
