Captained by Antwerp based piano and keyboard player Bram Weijters, Bram Weijters’ Crazy Men features a phenomenal cast of musicians from the vibrant Belgian jazz scene, including members of STUFF, Dans Dans, Cargo Mas and Lucid Lucia (ex BRZZVLL). The ensemble first came to life following the 2015 reissue of composer, arranger, pianist, and keyboardist Koen de Bruyne’s 1974 rare record Here Comes the Crazy Man!, which sprouted the release of Bram Weijters’ Crazy Men’s debut album Here They Come in 2019. With Belgian jazz-rock and fusion from the 1970s still a core inspiration to the ensemble, they have announced the release of a new album. Entitled The Return, the upcoming album features fourteen adventurous reworkings of compositions from artists like Philip Catherine, Placebo, Palle Mikelborg ensemble, Bob Porter, Cos and Koen de Bruyne. Along with the album announcement, Bram Weijters’ Crazy Men have shared the lead single ‘Planes’. The band commented on the song:

“While the song ‘Planes’ is based on Placebo’s 1972 live performance, this ‘Planes (intro)’ is based on the studio version of the piece ‘Planes’ from Placebo’s album ‘Ball of Eyes’ (1971). We converted the original intro from that studio version to a short moody trumpet feature, somewhat with a nod to Miles Davis’ ‘Sketches of Spain’. The reason for this, as you can hear in the sample used for the intro, is that composer Marc Moulin was president of the Belgian Miles Davis fan club as well.”

Listen to ‘Planes’ below and grab the album when it drops on August 27th through via Sdban Ultra.