Matthias Heyman

Matthias Heyman is Senior Researcher at Koninklijk Conservatorium Brussel (Erasmushogeschool Brussel, EhB), where he founded and chairs the research group “Jazz, Improvised Music & Popular Music.” In this role, he coordinates all research-related activities of KCB’s Jazz department, and is a member of the research board Trobador, and the BOZ KCB, which prepares Trobador meetings. Furthermore, he teaches the courses “Music History Jazz,” and supervises the master jazz examinations as the academic coach.

Matthias studied classical and jazz double bass at the Koninklijk Conservatorium Brussel and the Koninklijk Conservatorium Antwerpen, before pursuing his doctoral studies at the Universiteit Antwerpen. In 2018, as first in Belgium, he obtained his Ph.D. in jazz studies, and from 2019 to 2021, he was Postdoctoral Fellow for the Research Foundation – Flanders (FWO). Previous teaching and research experience include the Jazzstudio (Antwerp), the LUCA School of Arts (Leuven), the Conservatorium van Amsterdam (CvA), and the Universiteit van Amsterdam (UvA).

His research expertise lies in jazz history (with a focus on Belgium), jazz bass practices, and artistic research. Other interests include re-enactments in jazz and popular music, and the Beatles, the latter resulting in the edited volume (with Katie Kapurch and Richard Mills) The Beatles and Humour (2023). As a double bassist, he freelances in various orchestras and ensembles, including Symphony of Unity (Tomorrowland), the Royal Symphonic Band of the Belgian Guides, and the Belgian National Orchestra.

He has given keynotes and presentations at numerous international conferences (e.g., Rhythm Changes, Jazz Education Network) and his work has been published in such journals as Jazz Perspectives and Popular Music. Matthias is a board member of the International Network for Artistic Research in Jazz (INARJ), for which he hosted its fifth international conference in 2026, and is on the editorial board of ARJAZZ – Journal for Artistic Research in Jazz.

At VUB, Matthias is Assistant Professor of Arts and supervises several PhDs in artistic research and musicology, most of which have a focus on jazz or improvised music. He welcomes proposals within these disciplines with a specific focus on hybridity and historicity.