Roberto Magris

„As a jazz pianist I’m so happy when I meet a Bechstein piano on stage, because Bechstein pianos give the best of dynamics and colors to my music, and they can really swing!“

International jazz pianist and composer Roberto Magris (b. 1959) from Trieste, Italy, has over 32 recordings to his credit and has toured in over 42 different countries in Europe, America, Asia, Africa and Australia, performing at top jazz clubs, theatres and festivals around the world. Since 2006, Magris has mainly focused his musical interests in the USA by becoming the leading recording artist and musical director of JMood Records, the Kansas City jazz label, releasing 17 CDs under his name.

In the USA, Magris has performed in Los Angeles (The Jazz Bakery and Catalina Jazz Club in Hollywood), Kansas City (The Blue Room), Miami (WDNA Jazz Gallery, FIU Music Festival at Wertheim Performing Arts Center), Chicago (The Jazz Showcase), Milwaukee (The Jazz Estate), St. Louis, Omaha, Des Moines and Ft. Lauderdale. In 2007 he was honored by the City Council of Kansas City for his contribution to jazz music and performance at the American Jazz Museum.

In Europe, Magris has been performing at festivals and jazz clubs with the MUH Trio (Roberto Magris/Frantisek Uhlir/Jaromir Helesic Trio), which has its base in Prague and has recorded the CD “Prague After Dark”. Throughout his career, Magris has performed and recorded with a who’s who list of jazz legends and outstanding musicians, including Art Davis (bassist for John Coltrane), Herb Geller, Albert Tootie Heath, Idris Muhammad, Ira Sullivan, Sam Reed, Brian Lynch, Tony Lakatos, Mark Colby, Eric Hochberg, Chuck Bergeron, Paul Carr, Philip Catherine, Franco Ambrosetti, Bill Molenhof, Janusz Muniak, Bosko Petrovic, Kai Winding, Eddie Lockjaw Davis, Sal Nistico, and with a bunch of rising stars such as Hermon Mehari, Logan Richardson, Kendall Moore, Brandon Lee, Eric Jacobson, Shareef Clayton, Jim Mair, Matt Otto, Elisa Pruett, Peter Schlamb, Dominique Sanders, Brian Steever, Alfredo Chacon, Rodolfo Zuniga, Pablo Sanhueza a.o.. During his career,

Magris has also directed the Europlane Orchestra (a central-European jazz venture sponsored by INCE-Central European Initiative), the Gruppo Jazz Marca, the acid-jazz bands Dma Urban Jazz Funk and Alfabeats Nu Jazz, and his Italian quartet.