Grégoire Maret

Harmonica player Grégoire Maret has developed a trajectory centered on contemporary jazz, where the instrument inherited from Toots Thielemans assumes a melodic role close to the voice. Born in Geneva in 1975, he studied at the Geneva Conservatory of Music and then at the New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music before establishing himself on the New York scene at the end of the 1990s. Maret has stood out in a variety of contexts, from acoustic ensembles to projects blending jazz, soul and African‑American influences; he has collaborated with artists such as Cassandra Wilson, Herbie Hancock, Pat Metheny and Marcus Miller, and works within an aesthetic that is both modern and accessible. A member of the Pat Metheny Group on the tour for the “The Way Up” program in the mid‑2000s, he subsequently pursued a career as a leader in small ensembles, where the harmonica dialogues with piano and rhythm sections in a style highly attentive to nuance and phrasing. Beginning with the self‑titled album “Grégoire Maret” (2012) he has released several records under his own name while remaining a sought‑after sideman on the international scene. His style is characterized by an emphasis on singing melodies, a taste for open harmonic textures, and a fluid movement between ballads, mid‑tempo grooves and freer improvisations.