Hanne De Backer is a Belgian baritone saxophonist and artist based in Brussels. She is an energetic and versatile performer, mainly working in the field of improvised music and has left her mark on the European improv-scene in recent years. 

She is part of the Brussels saxophone-collective La Nuée, Antwerp underground Condor Gruppe, is often heard playing duo with people like Terrie Ex, Signe Emmeluth, Raphael Malfliet e.o. and lately is also seen and heard solo. She has been playing throughout Europe with her own projects and has been a welcome guest on different festivals like Summer Bummer Festival (Belgium), The Ex-40-Festival (the Netherlands & UK), Blow Out! Festival (Oslo), Music Unlimited Wels (Austria), Catalytic Festival (The Netherlands), Potentiale Festival (Germany), Taktlos Festival (Switzerland), Copenhagen Jazz Festival (Denmark), Saalfelden Jazz Festival (Austria), Berlin Jazz Festival (Germany)...

She has also been active in theatre with KVS, Zonzo Compagnie and  d e t h e a t e r m a k e r and more recent composed and performed the soundtrack of '21.02.2021 One day in the world, the world in one day', a theaterperformance from Nico Boon and produced by Arsenaal Mechelen. She is a founding member of Bookers & Hookers (2012-2016), a theatrical kamikaze-collective that brought literature and music to the public in the shape of anarchistic and dadaist evenings filled with unexpected guests and events. 

The latest project of g a b b r o resulted in Hanne De Backer’s first work as a moviemaker: in March ’21 she walked the whole Belgian coastline together with pianist Andreas Bral, Brooklyn based drummer Raf Vertessen, their instruments and a camel. Alongside the road, the trio played improvised sets based on their impressions and the physical challenges they endured. The journey was filmed by Seppe Van Grieken and recorded by Christophe Albertijn and afterwards directed and edited by Hanne into a 45’-musical and poetic documentary in black and white: AS WE WALK (2023).