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 including musicians such as Nicole Mitchell, Mary Halvorson, Fay Victor, Joel Ross, Aaron Parks, Miles Okazaki, etc. María writes and performs her original compositions with her group. Her debut EP “TetraWind” was picked as “one of the 2017’s best debuts” by the NYC Jazz Record and her full-length albums Magdalena and Reciprocity were 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.” María is a recipient of the 2017 Jazz Gallery Residency Commission, the 2018 Roulette Jerome Foundation Commission, the 2019 Roulette Residency, and the 2020 Jazz Coalition Commission Award. 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 well as Best New Artist in the 2018 JazzTimes Reader’s Poll. As an activist in the performing arts, María is a founding member of anti-discrimination group the We Have Voice Collective. María is a member of Mary Halvorson’s Code Girl, Joel Ross’ Parables, has toured with Antoine Roney, and performs and tours regularly with her own ensembles, as well as with RAJAS, led by Carnatic musician Rajna Swaminathan. She has toured Europe, the United States, and South America, playing as a leader in venues and festivals such as WinterJazzFest and BRIC JazzFest in NYC, PDX Jazz in Portland, OR, Jazzdor Festival in Strasbourg, Paris, the YardBird Suite in Edmonton, Canada, JazzUnterfhart in Munich, Germany, Victoria Natjonal Scene in Oslo, etc. María is currently spending a sabbatical year in Spain, developing her holistic SoliLunar method for musical creation.

Photo Credit: Screen shot courtesy of WRTI.