Photo credit: Nadine Kägi
Matthieu Mazué, born in 1995 in Dijon, 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 Diego Manuschevich, Michael Cina, Xaver Rüegg, Ralph Alessi, Gerry Hemingway, Camila Nebbia, Francisco Mela, Diego Hedez, Michaël Attias, Christoph Grab, Christian Weber, Dieter Ulrich, and Lina Allemano. He has performed at renowned festivals such as Jazzdor in Berlin and Strasbourg, Bird’s Eye in Basel, BeJazz in Bern, Sunside in Paris, Périscope in Lyon, Moods in Zurich, 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 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 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 trio and other ensembles, bringing an innovative and energetic perspective to contemporary jazz.
Recordings as a leader:
Monoliths and Screens for Quartet (upcoming recording in May 2025)
We Say Still (Jazzdor Series, 2022)
Cortex (Unit Records, 2021)
Piano (2018)
“Astonishingly mature music for a 25-year-old, gripping at every moment!”- Jazz Thing, 2021
“A trio with exceptional qualities. This trio has a remarkable interaction between equal players. The formation is powerful but not lacking in sensitivity, complex but not remote, contemporary in its aesthetics but also refreshing.”- Deutsche Welle, 2021
“Piano jazz that for once doesn’t invite you to fall asleep: Young, fresh, from Switzerland and without fear of abstraction.” – Ulrich Stock, Die Zeit, November 2022
“In deep reverence for and with great knowledge of tradition, they define a gripping, contemporary variant of the classical jazz trio.” – Rudolf Amstutz, Jazz’n’More, January 2023
“Mazué manages to create a narrative direction while alternating between brisk dynamics and pure reflections.”– Filipe Freitas, Jazz Trail, 2021
“The piano trio performed complex compositions in an energetic manner that provided space for both exciting interplay and rousing improvisations.”- ZKB Jazz Preis Jury, 2021
“The young Frenchman and the two young Swiss musicians form a piano trio whose freshness leaves much of the established jazz behind.” – Ulrich Stock, Die Zeit, 2021
“Mazué’s modernist trio has a lot to give to contemporary jazz, unwrapping inspirations and talking idioms of their own creation” – Filipe Freitas, JazzTrail, December 2022