Results for "Improvisation"

Mario Mattia

Mario Mattia is an improvisational pianist and graduate of the New England Conservatory whose work is rooted in spontaneity, deep listening and emotional presence. Drawing on a lifetime immersed in classical, jazz, progressive rock, non-tonal modernism and ambient traditions, his musical language reflects a wide constellation of influences - from Johann Sebastian Bach and Béla Bartók to Ella Fitzgerald and Keith Jarrett, and from King Crimson to Brian Eno. These diverse lineages converge in a practice that is entirely unplanned and shaped in real time.

For more than two decades, Mattia has devoted himself to refining a uniquely personal improvisational voice: intimate, exploratory and unconcerned with the bounds of genre. He begins each performance without predetermined themes, structures or titles. Each piece unfolds spontaneously, guided by intuition, emotional presence and attentive listening. Improvisation, for Mattia, is not simply performance. It is an active engagement with the present moment, an exercise in creating meaning, structure and expression in real time.

Joe Newnam

Double Vision Jazz Ensemble

Active since: January 1, 2023

Double Vision Jazz Ensemble — Contemporary Jazz, Texas Roots, New Collaborations

Based in Austin, Texas, Double Vision Jazz Ensemble is a contemporary acoustic jazz quartet co-led by pianist/composer Hank Hehmsoth and saxophonist/composer/arranger John Mills, with bassist Utah Hamrick and drummer Aaron Easley.

The ensemble combines original composition, improvisation, modern jazz language, Texas music history, and interdisciplinary collaboration. Hehmsoth and Mills have worked together for decades, developing a shared musical vocabulary that balances detailed writing with the spontaneity and interaction of a working jazz group.

Current Work

Sebastian Zawadzki

Born: October 14, 1991

Sebastian Zawadzki is a Polish-born pianist and composer based in Copenhagen, Denmark. His work moves between contemporary European and Nordic jazz, contemporary classical composition and film music, with a musical language centred on melody, space, improvisation and cinematic form.

Based in Denmark since 2010, Zawadzki has developed a distinctive approach to the piano that combines Scandinavian spaciousness and restraint with contemporary composition, lyrical improvisation and a strong sense of narrative. His projects range from acoustic piano trio and solo piano to chamber ensembles, electronics and symphony orchestra.

Masaki Hanawa

Born: April 7, 1998

Sound Artist / Saxophonist / Composer / Painter / etc.

Centering his practice on the alto saxophone with a distinctive tone that emphasizes air-inflected noise, Masaki Hanawa explores an expressive realm that moves fluidly between silence, sound, and music, creating works and performances that merge seamlessly with time and space.

His creative approach extends beyond music into painting, photography, and other visual media, cultivating a multidisciplinary practice that transcends conventional boundaries.

In 2023, he made his major debut with the release of his first album "Silence" on CADENZA (by T-Toc Records).
Recent highlights include his solo exhibition of acrylic "Paintings for Café" and the accompanying sound installation "Music for Café".
As part of his Alto Saxophone Solo Exhibition series, he has presented concept-based performances such as "Progrades and retrogrades based on the present moment", "Noise of the Alto Saxophone and the Sound of Space", and "Boundaries in Perception".

Andrea Ruocco

Born: February 26, 1991

Andrea Ruocco is an Italian bassist, composer, music therapist, and researcher active in

jazz, improvised music, sound art, and interdisciplinary artistic research. His work combines

performance, composition, ethnomusicology, sound studies, and experimental sonic

practices, with particular attention to Gnawa musical traditions, sound identity, and situated

forms of knowledge.

He is currently pursuing a PhD in Sound Studies and Sonic Art at the Conservatory of Music

“F. A. Bonporti” of Trento and Riva del Garda. His research project, Sound and Identity in

Digba Ogunbiyi

Born: September 26

Digba Ogunbiyi is a Nigerian jazz pianist and composer known for a unique playing and compositional style that blends the rhythmic nuances of Yoruba folk music with jazz and classical traditions.

A recipient of the Music society of Nigeria’s Steinway & Sons Piano Proficiency Award and a Doctorate from Eastman School of Music, Digba's music explores themes of identity and self-expression.

In 2024, while studying at the Eastman School of music, Digba received the Ray Wright prize, an award given to artists who embodies Ray Wright's spirit of artistry, dedication, versatility and entrepreneurship.

Mike Gebhart

Miguel Moreira

Born: February 12, 1982

Miguel Moreira, guitarist and composer, is one of the most outstanding musicians in the jazz community in Portugal, recognized for his creative timbre approach to the guitar.

In 2010 he formed his sextet that recorded "Câmbio" in 2012, his first album as a leader and composer that had its premiere at Casa da Música as part of the New Values of Jazz Cycle.

He was a resident artist at the Guimarães Jazz Festival 2019 where he premiered and recorded his most recent record "The Darkness of The Unknown" critically acclaimed as one of the best of the year 2020.

Andy Nechaevsky

Born: April 23, 1970

Andy Nechaevsky is a Ukrainian composer, multi-instrumentalist, and luthier from Lviv whose music transcends the boundaries between avant-folk, impressionism, and modern creative jazz. As a master-luthier who handcrafts his own resonator kalimbas, Nechaevsky creates a sonic universe that is both technologically innovative and profoundly human. His compositions are defined by hypnotic textures, structured improvisation, and a deep emotional resonance that critics have described as "prayer-like yet claustrophobic."

Nechaevsky’s narrative is deeply rooted in themes of displacement and resilience. After losing his home in annexed Crimea, music became his primary medium for processing the "crossroads of history." This personal journey informs his artistic exploration of the "perpetual outsider" - a concept inspired by the histories of Anusim Marranos and Mozarabs.