"Matthieu Donarier, saxophones & clarinets, composition

Improviser and composer, Matthieu Donarier is nowadays one the most visibles french blowers of his generation. Creative and versatile, he has been developing many projects rooted in different aesthetics.

He learned to play clarinet during childhood before turning his attention to saxophone at the age of fifteen. After spending a few years practicing classical and contemporary music at the National Conservatory of Rennes he graduated in 1995 with a 1st Prize, then settled in Paris for four years to study at the Jazz Department of the "National Conservatory of Music" (CNSM); He graduated in 1998 with a first prize awarded unanimously.

in 1999 he founded the Matthieu Donarier Trio with guitarist Manu Codjia and drummer Joe Quitzke. The newly created group has been awarded at "Concours National de la Défense" in 1999 - 1st Group Prize + 1st & 3rd Soloist Prizes.

Matthieu is or has been involved in numerous French and European groups, such as BabyBoom (Daniel Humair Quintet), Stéphane Kerecki Trio+1, Gabor Gado Quartet, Stephan Oliva Quintet, Le Gros Cube (Alban Darche's Big Band), Caratini Jazz Ensemble, Unit,... he also shared the stage with Dave Liebman, Tony Malaby, Pat Metheny, John Scofield, Chris Potter, Jon Irabagon, Joachim Kühn, Marc Ducret, Bruno Chevillon, Jean-François Jenny-Clarke and many others.

As a result of these experiences, Matthieu Donarier develops his own musical language through improvisation, composition, building projects in a wide chromatic range, from chamber-music rooted creations to electric and complex rhythmic compositions. All of these projects settle in very different aesthetics and give their sense to what can be "contemporary jazz".

Active Bands :
Matthieu Donarier Trio - with Manu Codjia (gt) & Joe Quitzke (dr)
Kindergarten - duet with singer & keyboard player Poline Renou
Dragoon - with Benjamin Moussay (kb), Christophe Lavergne (dr) & Manu Codjia
Wood - duet with Sébastien Boisseau (b)
Planetarium - duet with Albert van Veenendaal (piano, prepared piano & toys)

Matthieu can also be heard through many other projects, e.g his long time collaboration with saxophonist and composer Alban Darche, Stéphane Kerecki's trio and quintet, Patrice Caratini Jazz Ensemble, Santiago Quintans' Origami..."

"Santiago Quintans is a composer/guitarist active in the fields of contemporary music and Jazz. His music and research focus on the relationship between the electric guitar, improvisation, and new digital tools of sound transformation. His work evokes a new conception of musical materials based on the formal properties of sound masses and their motion in a given space. Coming from a Jazz/improvisational background, the relationship between body gestures and musical structure is at the core of his compositional approach

A native of Vigo, Spain (1975), Santiago holds a Bachelor's Degree in Jazz Guitar and a Master's Degree from the University of Miami (USA) as well as a Master's Degree in Musicology (focusing on the digital treatment of the electric guitar) from Université Paris 8 (France). In 2004 he moves to Paris and becomes an active member of the new music/improvisation scene. He has written music for contemporary music ensembles, dance companies and as a performer he has worked with some of today's leading figures in Jazz and contemporary music (Kenny Wheeler, Maria Schneider, conductor Mark Foster), performed emblematic pieces such as Steve Reich's Electric Counterpoint, and perfomed contemporary works such as Petet Eötvös "Seven" with the Caën Orchestra and appeared in Festivals such as Europa d'Jazz, Montreux.

His research work on the electric guitar has been widely published (Journal of Interdisciplinary Music Studies (JIMS), Appareil, Espacio Sonoro), and he's often invited to give lectures in Europe and America. Since 2008 Santiago is the head of the Jazz program at Le Mans Conservatory in France."