Since he was a little kid, music had always been present in Cedric’s life. With his mother being a clarinet player and his grandfather playing the trumpet It seemed as though his fate had already been determined. The only choice left to make was the clarinet or the trumpet, but as all brass players around the world already know, that’s not really a choice. 

 

At the age of six Cedric started getting trumpet lessons from his grandfather. Every Saturday afternoon they played together until he was old enough to go to an academy. 

 

It was at the music academy in Geraardsbergen he met Lode Mertens (Brussels Jazz Orchestra). Lode saw Cedric was eager to learn and took him under his wings. After a couple of years of classical training his interests shifted more to jazz and pop music.

 

In 2012 Cedric joined the Ghent Youth Orchestra. Under the guidance of musicians like Bert Joris and Ilja Reijngoud they got to perform in Belgium, the United Kingdom and even Japan. 

 

At age 19 he started his higher education at the Royal Conservatory of Ghent. Studying with Jeroen Van Malderen, Janos Bruneel and Bart Defoort, and attending masterclasses by Christian Scott, Steve Coleman and Joey Baron. 

 

Three years later, with a bachelor degree in his pocket, Cedric was recruited by the Royal Band of the Belgian Navy where he is still active today. The music they play varies from the music of Tom & Jerry to Snarky Puppy or Bert Joris. Stimulating him to be an as versatile musician as possible.

 

In 2022, Cedric finished his master’s degree at the Royal Conservatory of Antwerp with great distinction after lessons from Kurt Van Herck, Ben Sluijs and Bert Joris. During these studies he also worked with Lionel Loueke and Jakob Bro. In the summer of 2022 they showed the result of this collaboration at the Jazz Middelheim Festival with a performance of Flight of the Black Zebra ft. Jakob Bro.

 

The work he does with his own quintet, Grand Picture Palace, Banker, Jake Walker and collaborations with  Lander Gyselinck, Blackwave, Iskander Moon and many more 

are proof of his versatility and the fact that he’ll never stop exploring musical boundaries.