Maria Grand

María Grand is a saxophonist, composer, educator, and vocalist. She moved to New York City in 2011. She has since become an important member of the city’s creative music scene, performing extensively in projects led by or including musicians such as Nicole Mitchell, Vijay Iyer, Craig Taborn, Mary Halvorson, Jen Shyu, Aaron Parks, Fay Victor, Joel Ross, etc.

María writes and performs her original compositions with her ensemble, DiaTribe; her debut EP “TetraWind” was picked as “one of the 2017’s best debuts” by the NYC Jazz Record and her full-length album Magdalena was praised by major publications such as the New York Times, Downbeat, JazzTimes, Billboard, JazzIz, and others.. The New York Times calls her “an engrossing young tenor saxophonist with a zesty attack and a solid tonal range”, while Vijay Iyer says she is “a fantastic young saxophonist, virtuosic, conceptually daring, with a lush tone, a powerful vision, and a deepening emotional resonance.”

She is a recipient of the 2017 Jazz Gallery Residency Commission, the 2018 Roulette Jerome Foundation Commission, and the 2019 Roulette Residency. She was nominated for the Jazz Journalist’s Association Up-And-Coming Musician of the Year 2018 and named the 2018 Newcomer Musician for the El Intruso 11th Annual Internation Critics Poll. As an activist in the performing arts, María is a founding member of anti-discrimination group, the We Have Voice Collective. María performs regularly with her own ensemble; she is also a member of Joel Ross’ Parables, has toured with Antoine Roney, as well as with RAJAS, led by Carnatic musician Rajna Swaminathan, and joined Mary Halvorson’s Code Girl in 2019.

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She has toured Europe, the United States, and South America, playing in venues and festivals such as the Village Vanguard in New York, La Villette Jazz Festival in Paris, Saafelden Jazz Festival in Austria, the Half Note Club in Athens, Millennium Park in Chicago, Roulette in Brooklyn, the Blue Whale in Los Angeles, the Northsea Jazz Festival (Netherlands), Porgy and Bess (Austria), Bird's Eyes (CH), IloJazz Festival in Guadeloupe, Millennium Park in Chicago, etc.

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