Chris was born in Heusden-Zolder, Belgium. He studied musicology at the KU Leuven and is a largely self-taught bass player. Chris started out on the electric bass and switched to acoustic double bass as his interest in jazz grew. During his decades of independent study, Chris attended clinics and master classes with Hein Van De Geyn, John Clayton and Ricardo Delfra, among others.

  For fourteen years Chris played in Chris Joris’s band, The Chris Joris Experience, and he played for many years in the bands No Vibrato, Trio Perdu, Multitude and Criterium 3 as well. With these bands Chris toured in France, Germany, Scandinavia, Canada, Mexico, Guadelouope and so on. 

Chris accompanied numerous musicians like: Mal Waldron, Deborah Brown, Gordon Brisker, Hod o’Brien, Al De Fino, Slide Hampton, Gene Connors, Sylvia Droste and Judy Niemack, among others.

Chris regularly tours Europe with the Los Angeles-based, American vibraphone player Eldad Tarmu, whose band features the Eastern European music of Tarmu’s roots.

Chris led his own band for many years, The Chris Mentens Jazz Van, with whom he recorded two albums featuring Pierre Van Dormael, among others.

Since 2016 Chris has focused primarily on the Jean Luc Pappi Trio, with Jean Luc on piano and Bruno Castellucci on drums.

 From 1996 to 2023 Chris was a professor of jazz history at the Royal Conservatory Antwerp and The Royal Conservatory of Brussels. For decades Chris was the coordinator of the jazz, pop and rock department at the High School for the Arts (De!Kunsthumaniora) in Antwerp.