"Matthieu Mazué is a French pianist and composer recognized for his innovative approach to contemporary jazz.

Since 2015, Matthieu Mazué has distinguished himself on numerous European stages, collaborating with musicians such as Ralph Alessi, Michaël Attias, Gerry Hemingway, Camila Nebbia, Francisco Mela... He has performed on renowned stages such as Jazzdor in Berlin and Strasbourg, Bird's Eye in Basel, BeJazz in Bern, Sunside in Paris, Périscope in Lyon, Moods in Zürich, JazzFest Bonn, and the Unerhört Festival. In 2022, he also toured Australia alongside Andrew Saragossi.

In 2019, he formed the Matthieu Mazué Trio with bassist Xaver Rüegg and drummer Michael Cina. The trio released their first album, "Cortex," in 2021, followed by "We Stay Still" in 2022 under the Jazzdor Series label. Their music, praised for its freshness and complexity, reflects a contemporary vision of jazz while honoring its traditions. In 2022, the Jazzdor festival supported him throughout the year. His trio later expanded into a quartet with the addition of saxophonist Michaël Attias.

Matthieu was awarded with a six months artistic residency in New York City in 2024. This experience allowed him to start a new band with drummer Francisco Mela and trumpet player Diego Hedez.

Matthieu Mazué's talent has been recognized with several distinctions, including the NOVA Jazz Composition Prize 2021, the ZKB Jazz Preis 2021, and the JazzBeet Competition 2021 at JazzFest Bonn. These awards highlight his significant contribution to the current jazz scene. The international press, notably the German news paper "Die Zeit", has repeatedly recognized him as one of the most innovative musicians in Europe.

Based in Switzerland, Matthieu Mazué continues to perform with his ensembles, bringing an innovative and energetic perspective to contemporary jazz."

"Francisco Jose Mela is a Cuban drummer and percussionist who has performed with a wide array of prominent international Latin and jazz artists including Kenny Barron, Gary Bartz, JoAnne Brackeen, Jane Bunnett, Regina Carter, Anat Cohen, Paquito D'Rivera, George Garzone, Larry Grenadier, Stefon Harris, Lionel Loueke, Joe Lovano, Jason Moran, John Patitucci, John Scofield, Esperanza Spalding, Mark Turner, McCoy Tyner, Chucho Valdés, Kenny Werner, and many others.

Born in Bayamo, Cuba, Francisco Mela studied at the Music School of Arts El Yarey as a teenager before furthering his studies at the National School of Arts for Teachers, el CENCEA. He taught at Rafael's Cabrera Conservatory of Music and played with some of the country's top Latin jazz musicians, as well as leading his group, MelaSon Latin Jazz Band, that toured throughout Mexico. In 2000, he moved to Boston to study at Berklee College of Music and was invited to join the percussion faculty. He became the house drummer at the Wally's Café. It was here where he developed the concept for what would later be his own group.

In 2005, Mela joined the quartet of saxophonist Joe Lovano. Of particular note was the group's 2008 album on Blue Note entitled Folk Art.Later that year, Mela was approached by McCoy Tyner to join his trio.

Mela was named the Twin Cities Jazz Festival's first artistic director in 2014, Before appointment, he served as artistic director for the Xalapa Jazz Festival in Veracruz, Mexico (2010-2013).

In late 2016, Mela was part of an inaugural ensemble that joined Afro-Cuban pianist Chucho Valdés and saxophonist Joe Lovano for an international tour throughout Europe and North America. He also leads his own group, The Crash Trio."

"My name is Diego Miguel Hernández González. I was born on February 17, 2000 in Remedios (Villa Clara).

My taste for music has always been with me, since I was a child. My father played instrumental music for me, and both my uncle and my father were also instrumentalists musicians, and I think it was a good push for me.

I began my studies at the Olga Alonso vocational school in the province of Villa Clara. In 2012 I participated in a trumpet contest where I won the first prize, and I was part of a Cuban music septet playing percussion. In 2014 I traveled to Havana to record a CD in the Abdala studios with the Villa Clara Youth Symphony, where I played the Soloist trumpet.

2015 was the year where I started my musical studies at the National School of Art. This is where I discover what I'm really passionate about doing. I connected with maestro Roberto Garcia, an emblematic trumpeter of our country, and he gives me the magic of how to mix Cuban music with jazz, thus working with sounds from bebop to Cuban rumba. This gave me the opportunity to return to Abdala studies with a group called Afrocubanos where he was the director.

We played Afro-Cuban music fused with jazz. I was part of the Jazz Band directed by the master Camilo Moreira, where I was also a solo trumpet player. We made several recordings and presentations in important theaters such as the National Theater of Cuba. This allowed me to be part of workshops with greats of the music industry such as David Welk, Michael Rodríguez, Dafnis Prieto, Peter Apfelbaum, and Roman Filiu. I had the pleasure of playing with many of them.

I was in several presentations with the Young Big Band of maestro Joaquín Betancour, playing in an important Anniversary gala at the Teatro de Bellas Artes. Thanks to the jazz trumpeter Kervin Barreto, whom I consider as a friend and teacher, I learned much more about the stage, since Kervin had the joy of playing with the Calle 13 band. I was also lovingly added to the Carlos Miyares Band thanks to Kervin, playing this music in jazz clubs like La Zorra y el Cuervo, Jazz Café.

On several occasions the bassist David Falla invited me to play with his band at the Jazz Café, these were great experiences since they are first-rate musicians in the world. I was also playing with the singer and actress Rachel Pastor, and it helped me to get a little more out of the sound of jazz and integrate more into genres such as Pop Ballads, and R&B.

Mas con menos is a Cuban music group, and all its members are percussionists of the great singer Isacc Delgado. This band also includes a brass section and I was once part of this group as well. The virtuoso percussionist Eduardo Ramos hired me for a job as well, and it was great to play incredible Cuban music with them and thus playing alongside great musicians from our island!

For several years I have been part of a project called PAUZA, made up of two Cuban female DJs. This is very important to me because it really is an interesting new a style - mixing Cuban and jazz sounds with everything from electronic to house music. PAUZA has helped me connect more with the foreign market, making my sound known , our sound, our identity as Cubans around the world."