Home » Member Page

LAURA J MARRAS

Artist Biography: Laura J Marras

About Me

Laura J Marras was born in Iglesias and began studying the saxophone at the age of eight with the Santa Cecilia Wind Band of Fluminimaggiore (Sardinia). During these years, she developed an intense concert activity in the province of Cagliari as an alto saxophonist. Driven by a deep passion for jazz, in 2013 she was admitted to the Bachelor’s Degree in Jazz Saxophone at the Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina Conservatory of Cagliari, where she studied with Stefano D’Anna and Achille Succi, graduating with highest honors (110/110 cum laude). In 2022 she also earned her Master’s Degree from the same conservatory, again with highest honors. During her academic years, she collaborated with the Palestrina Ensemble, a youth chamber orchestra conducted by Maestro Mario Frezzato, taking part in numerous concert series between 2014 and 2018. Since 2018, she has been a member of the Orchestra Jazz del Conservatorio di Cagliari (OJC) as lead alto saxophonist, performing in theaters, jazz clubs, and festivals throughout Sardinia. From 2023, she has also been a member of the Sardica Swing Orchestra, directed by drummer Paolo Nonnis, former conductor of the Buddy Rich Orchestra on the U.S. West Coast during the 1980s. Alongside her orchestral activity, she maintains an intense live performance career in quartet and quintet settings, performing on alto and soprano saxophone and gaining solid experience in live music contexts. In 2024, she participated as a special guest on alto saxophone in the recording project Punti di Vista by pianist and composer Alessandro Di Liberto, featuring Sebastiano Dessanay on double bass and Roberto Migoni on drums, produced by GleAM Records. In 2025, she founded the project “Shorter’s Vision – Where Poetry Meets Jazz”, a tribute to the music of Wayne Shorter, together with Alessandro Di Liberto (piano), Enzo Zirilli (drums), and Alessandro Maiorino (double bass). On January 16, 2026, her debut album “Serenity – Laura J Marras plays Joe Henderson” will be released, featuring Francesca Corrias (voice, flute, and lyrics), Alessandro Di Liberto (piano and arrangements), Alessio Cogotti (drums), and Gabriele Loddo (electric bass), and will be published by WoW Records. Alongside her artistic career, she also works as a music education and saxophone teacher at primary school level.

Contact Me

My Jazz Story

I started playing the saxophone when I was very young. From the very beginning, the sound of the saxophone deeply fascinated me. For many years I played in my hometown’s marching band, where I learned discipline, listening, and the joy of making music together. Only later in life did I truly discover jazz, through the music of Wayne Shorter and John Coltrane. From that moment on, it was love — and a continuous pleasure in discovering sound and personal expression. What I love about jazz is its unpredictability: it is never obvious, you never know what is going to happen next. I love the interplay that develops between musicians, and the sense of freedom that comes from inventing sounds and melodies in the moment — like a fleeting instant that exists only once, and then is gone forever.

Get more of a good thing!

Our weekly newsletter highlights our top stories, our special offers, and upcoming jazz events near you.

Install All About Jazz

iOS Instructions:

To install this app, follow these steps:

All About Jazz would like to send you notifications

Notifications include timely alerts to content of interest, such as articles, reviews, new features, and more. These can be configured in Settings.