Steve Houben, a Belgian saxophonist and flutist who has played with the greats of jazz, has passed away at 76 years old.
Chet Baker, George Coleman, Bill Frisell, our own Charles Loos, Mauranne, Toots Thielemans. Liège-born Steve Houben has shared the stage with all of these jazz greats. His impressive list of collaborators already implies it: Houben himself was a man of great sensitivity and talent on both the saxophone and the flute.
He was the son of a classical pianist mother and an amateur jazz musician father. Houben cut his teeth in the band of one of Belgium’s jazz pioneers, Jacques Pelzer, refined his skills at the Berklee College of Music in Boston, and founded a jazz school at the Royal Conservatory of Liège. Houben’s talent was recognized far and wide, and he received numerous awards like the Django d’Or prize and the Mérite wallon.
He was also an accomplished composer, with tracks such as Sweet Martine and Oh Boy to his name.
Houben passed away from Parkinson’s disease just days after his 76th birthday. He may never make his saxophone sing again, but his music and legacy live on.
