Tom Barman has really caught the jazz virus. The singer, whom we mainly know for his work with the Belgian rock band dEUS, said this two years ago: "I won’t ever return to rock." But this is not a new passion for him because back in 1996 Barman used a Mingus sample in the dEUS song Theme From Turnpike. He also put together several compilations from the Blue Note and Impulse catalogs. So it didn’t come as a complete surprise when Barman founded TaxiWars in 2014, together with his countryman Robin Verheyen, a gifted saxophonist who has lived in New York for some ten years (and played at North Sea Jazz with his NY Quartet in 2012). The group’s debut album, released last year, is simply entitled TaxiWars and is highly song-oriented. No more endless jamming, but rather a swinging groove with a raw edge and influences ranging from Pharoah Sanders to Tom Waits. Or, as Barman himself calls it: ‘hardcore jazz with a punky approach.’
