Tuesday, October 23
PDX Jazz @ Jimmy Mak’s Presents Grégoire Maret
8:00 pm | Location: Jimmy Mak's | $22/18
“He’s one of the most creative musicians around.” – Herbie Hancock
“Grégoire Maret is an exceptional young musician who is taking the harmonica to an exciting new place in jazz.” – Pat Metheny
“He is carrying the instrument into the 21st century with prowess, passion and creativity.” – Marcus Miller
“Whenever he lifts his instrument to his lips…we are transported with a sweet yet powerful intensity to a higher plane.” – Cassandra Wilson
PDX Jazz, the presenting organization of the Portland Jazz Festival in partnership with Jimmy Mak’s, announces Grégoire Maret as part of the continuing PDX Jazz @ Jimmy Mak’s series on Tuesday, October 23rd @ 8 and 9:30pm. A leader in the ranks of harmonica players, Maret has become one of the most in-demand sidemen in jazz over the past decade. His versatile playing has led him to perform with everyone from Pat Metheny to Elton John, Prince, and most recently Cassandra Wilson. This past March, Maret brought his signature sound to the forefront with his debut, self-titled solo release.
The album includes a cross-generational meeting of harmonica flag-bearers when Maret duets with legend Toots Thielemans on the track “”O Amor E O Meu Pais.” He described the process as, “a dream come true, but the tricky part was to take it to its full potential. I didn’t want it to just be a duet of solos, the championship of the harmonica. I wanted something really musical and complementary, where you really see how much he influenced me but also how different we are.”
But Grégoire Maret sees its namesake do more than flex harmonica muscles-he manages to showcase the lyrical breadth of his instrument while embracing influences such as Stevie Wonder and Brazilian music. The harmonica player described his debut as such: “There’s a lot about this record that is about my past to where I am now. I wanted to acknowledge not just who I am but how I came to be what I am now.” Featured as guests on the record are longtime collaborators/employers of Maret, Cassandra Wilson and Marcus Miller. Miller has said that Maret is “carrying the instrument into the 21st century with prowess, passion, and creativity.”
Maret grew up in Geneva, Switzerland, the son of a Harlem-born, African-American mother and a Swiss father. After studying at the prestigious Conservatoire Supérieur de Musique de Genève he decided to undertake jazz studies at New York’s New School University. Intending to return to Switzerland and a career as a teacher, Maret soon found himself working regularly with NYC’s finest jazz musicians, and his decision to stick around for a year after graduation was extended indefinitely.
Maret’s dedication has paid off in spades: he won a Grammy with the Pat Metheny Group in 2005 for “Best Contemporary Jazz Album”, won the Jazz Journalists’ Association’s “Player of the Year” award, and was named a “Rising Star Miscellaneous Instrument (harmonica)” in DownBeat. But the real rewards come via the caliber of artist that knocks on his door in addition to his continued growth as a musician. Maret has stated, “It’s always completely different. For every new project, I come to a place where I almost feel like a beginner again. So I start everything from zero to be in tune with whatever the music is calling for.”
PDX Jazz @ Jimmy Mak’s Presents
Grégoire Maret
Tuesday, October 23rd
Set Times: 8 and 9:30pm
Grégoire Maret – Harmonica
Federico Pena – Piano
Matt Brewer – Bass
Clarence Penn – Drums
