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Michel Reis

Hailed as a “tremendous pianist” by Downbeat Magazine, Michel Reis has in recent years paved his way into an artist of international acclaim. Michel Reis has appeared in in many of the world’s most famous venues and festivals, including the Blue Note Jazz Club, Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola at Jazz at Lincoln Center, the Olympia in Paris, the Casa de Musica in Porto, the Panama Jazz Festival the Montreux Jazz Festival, Cully Jazz, Crest Jazz Vocal, OctLoft Jazz Festival, Les Rendez-Vous de l’Erdre de Nantes and many more. He has toured extensively all over the world, performing in Europe, Asia, North and South America, as well as Africa.

Michel Reis has released 10 albums as a leader and co-leader: A Young Mind (2005) and Fairytale (2009) for Waltzing-Parke Records, Point of No Return (2011) for Armored Records, “Reis Demuth Wiltgen”(2013) for the French label Laborie Jazz, ‘’Hidden Meaning’’ (2013), “Capturing This Moment” (2015) and ‘’Places In Between’’ (2016) for Double Moon Records / Challenge Int., a solo album entitled ‘Mito’ for Cortez Sounds / Mocloud Records, one with his Japanese Group entitled ‘Japan Quartet’ for Mocloud Records and ‘Once In A Blue Moon’ for the CAMJazz label.

A native of Luxembourg, Michel Reis began studying classical piano, jazz piano, composition and theory at the Conservatoire de la Ville de Luxembourg under the tutelage of Gast Waltzing, Serge Bausch, Kris Defoort, Patrick Hartert and Guy Cabay. To further his musical training, Reis moved to Boston, MA to study at Berklee College of Music and the New England Conservatory of Music, studying piano and composition with Danilo Perez, Ran Blake, Frank Carlberg, Hal Crook, Joe Lovano, and Dave Holland, obtaining first a Bachelor of Music and then a Master of Music. After his studies, Michel Reis moved to New York to delve into the professional Jazz scene, performing regularly with different groups as a leader and as a sideman. It is in New York, where Michel Reis met composer and orchestrator David Spear, who has been very influential in his career and whom he remained a student and a close friend with.

Michel Reis has collaborated with Joshua Redman, Vince Mendoza Didier Lookwood, Richard Bona, Gast Waltzing, Patrick Zimmerli, Jeff Ballard, Joshua Redman, Esperanza Spalding, George Garzone, Paul Wiltgen, Marc Demuth, Adam Cruz, Jonas Burgwinkel, Robert Landfermann, Stefan Karl Schmid, Niels Klein, Louis Moutin, Mauro Gargano, Jonathan Orland, Takashi Sugawa, Akihiro Nishiguchi, Sun Ishiwaka and many more. Besides performing, Michel Reis works extensively as a composer, arranger and orchestrator.

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1
Album Review

Reis Demuth Wiltgen: Sly

Read "Sly" reviewed by Alberto Bazzurro


Tre baldi giovanotti lussemburghesi firmano questo album che sonda in maniera quanto mai corretta l'universo-piano trio, tenendo largamente conto di quanto detto in materia nel corso dei decenni, il che sta implicitamente a indicare che non vi accade nulla di particolarmente nuovo, ma quello che fanno i tre lo fanno bene, con padronanza tecnica e lessicale, anche se, specialmente in giovani musicisti (peraltro non certo alle prime armi) come questi, gradiremmo sempre cogliere qualche prurito maggiore, la voglia di rischiare ...

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In Pictures

Reis-Demuth-Wiltgen Trio in Ancona Summer Jazz 2019

Read "Reis-Demuth-Wiltgen Trio in Ancona Summer Jazz 2019" reviewed by Andrea Rotili


Photos from the July 4th performance by Reis-Demuth-Wiltgen Trio with Michel Reis at piano, Paul Wiltgen on drum, Marc Demuth on double bass. The concert was held at Aion Moroder in Ancona, Italy as part of Ancona Summer Jazz 2019. ...

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Michel Reis il Questionario di Proust

Read "Michel Reis il Questionario di Proust" reviewed by Paolo Peviani


All About Jazz Italia: Il tratto principale della mia musica. Michel Reis: Cerco di fare una musica che sia piuttosto melodica e con armonie ricche. Cerco di avere delle idee precise, ma di lasciare comunque ai miei musicisti molta libertà di esprimersi. Quando suoniamo dal vivo abbiamo anche dei momenti veramente free. Un po' meno su disco. In generale, la mia musica cerca di essere elegiaca e di raccontare delle storie, ma anche di essere interpretata sul momento, ...

193
Album Review

Michel Reis: Point Of No Return

Read "Point Of No Return" reviewed by Wilbert Sostre


The trio on Michel Reis' Point Of No Return is a testament to the international character of jazz music, especially in the 21th century. A pianist/composer from Luxemburg, Reis studied jazz performance and composition at Berklee College of Music. Adam Cruz is a Latin American drummer, born in New York, whose experience includes playing with Chick Corea and Danilo Perez. Bassist Tal Gamlieli is another amazing musician coming from Israel. The common ground here is the international language of jazz. ...

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Album Review

Michel Reis: Point of No Return

Read "Point of No Return" reviewed by Dan McClenaghan


With Point of No Return, pianist Michel Reis--born in Luxembourg and now New York-based after formal education at Berklee School of Music and the New England Conservatory--has recorded an album of atmospheric, often somber, and consistently beautiful music. The twenty-something musician avoids the trap into which so many budding artists fall: that of mixing styles and concepts on a single set, trying to show off everything they can do.The finely focused, mostly piano trio effort is augmented on ...

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Recording

Pianist-Musicrafter Michel Reis Creates Seriously Interesting Pianistic Ensemble Music on "Point of No Return"

Pianist-Musicrafter Michel Reis Creates Seriously Interesting Pianistic Ensemble Music on "Point of No Return"

Source: Gapplegate Music Review by Grego Edwards

Musical artists often take exception to being pigeon- holed by the press and it in part has to do with their wish not to prejudice an audience in advance against their music in any way. Yet of course readers want to have some idea of what to expect from an artist and his or her music. Pigeonholing is one quick way to convey some sense of the music, just as bricks-and-morter record shops ordinarily divide what they are selling into ...

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Recording

From the Stacks 2011, Vol. 3: Michel Reis, Pitom, Rhys Chatham, Ken Peplowski, Others

From the Stacks 2011, Vol. 3: Michel Reis, Pitom, Rhys Chatham, Ken Peplowski, Others

Source: Something Else!

by S. Victor Aaron Rhys Chatham: The Man With The Horns. Many, many horns. It might be only the third Stacks so far this year, but it's a much overdue one. There's a whopping seven 2011 releases discussed here, with several other worthy ones being pushed back to a later fourth installment. Two of these albums are by veteran acts, but the remaining five capture five budding talents at or near the beginning of their recording careers as leaders. Some ...

“Reis is a musical storyteller” —Dan McCleneghan, All About Jazz

“Reis is a tremendous pianist with classical chops, and maybe even a better composer, possessing a clear, expansive vision. Point of No Return shows off both sides of this exciting artist.” —Frank Alkyer, Downbeat Magazine

“Michel Reis is a very exceptional pianist and composer” —Joe Lovano

“Michel Reis is a musician of outstanding talent, discipline and seriousness.” —Danilo Perez

Photos

Music

Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson

Sly

CAM Jazz
2021

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Hidden Meaning

Blue Note
2013

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Point of No Return

Armored Records
2011

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