Originally from Luxembourg, Michel Reis studied classical and jazz piano, composition and theory in his native country and in Boston before settling in New York to immerse himself in the world of professional jazz.
He has collaborated with artists such as Joshua Redman, Vince Mendoza, Didier Lockwood, Richard Bona and many others. The pianist has established himself in recent years as an artist of international renown. Since 2005 he has released 10 albums as a leader and co-leader. Short Stories is the latest and 11th album and the second on the CAMJazz label.
Michel Reis has performed internationally in many of the world’s most famous venues and festivals : Blue Note Jazz Club, Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola at Jazz at Lincoln Center, the Olympia in Paris, the Casa de Musica in Porto, the Panama Jazz Festival, the Montreux Jazz Festival, Cully Jazz, Crest Jazz Vocal etc. He has toured extensively all over the world, performing in Europe, Asia, North and South America, as well as Africa.
: HAS PLAYED
Festival en Sol Mineur, Luberon Jazz, l’Olympia Paris, Les Rendez-Vous de l’Erdre de Nantes, Crest Jazz Vocal (FR), Kiochijoji Jazz Festival, Blue Note Jazz Club (JP), Montreux Jazz Festival, Cully Jazz Festival (CH), Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola at Jazz at Lincoln Center, the 55 Bar, the Knitting Factory (US), United Islands Festival (CZ), Ystad Sweden Jazz Festival (SE), Jazz am Rhein, Jazzwerkstatt (DE), Casa Musica (PT), Panama Jazz Festival (PA),...
: PRESS QUOTES
"What consistently comes to mind is how breathable this album is. **** " - Carlo Wolff, Downbeat Magazine
"Easy to relate to while being out of the ordinary, this is a real sensory treat.” - Midwest Record
"Reis is a musical storyteller." - Dan McCleneghan, All About Jazz
"Michel Reis is a very exceptional pianist and composer." - Joe Lovano, Grammy winning jazz saxophonist
"Tempered impressionism with mounting rhythmic suspense." - Nate Chinen, New York Times
: BIOGRAPHY
Hailed as a “tremendous pianist” by Downbeat Magazine, Michel Reis has in recent years paved his way into an artist of international acclaim. Michel Reis has appeared in in many of the world’s most famous venues and festivals, including the Blue Note Jazz Club, Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola at Jazz at Lincoln Center, the Olympia in Paris, the Casa de Musica in Porto, the Panama Jazz Festival the Montreux Jazz Festival, Cully Jazz, Crest Jazz Vocal, OctLoft Jazz Festival, Les Rendez-Vous de l’Erdre de Nantes and many more. He has toured extensively all over the world, performing in Europe, Asia, North and South America, as well as Africa.
Michel Reis has released 11 albums as a leader and co-leader: A Young Mind (2005) and Fairytale (2009) for Waltzing-Parke Records, Point of No Return (2011) for Armored Records, Reis Demuth Wiltgen (2013) for the French label Laborie Jazz, Hidden Meaning (2013), Capturing This Moment (2015) and Places In Between (2016) for Double Moon Records / Challenge Int., a solo album entitled Mito for Cortez Sounds / Mocloud Records (2018), one with his Japanese Group entitled Japan Quartet for Mocloud Records (2018) and Once In A Blue Moon for the CAM Jazz label (2018). 2019 marks the release of his second solo album and second album for the CAM Jazz label, entitled Short Stories.
A native of Luxembourg, Michel Reis began studying classical piano, jazz piano, composition and theory at the Conservatoire de la Ville de Luxembourg under the tutelage of Gast Waltzing, Serge Bausch, Kris Defoort, Patrick Hartert and Guy Cabay. To further his musical training, Reis moved to Boston, MA to study at Berklee College of Music and the New England Conservatory of Music, studying piano and composition with Danilo Perez, Ran Blake, Frank Carlberg, Hal Crook, Joe Lovano, and Dave Holland, obtaining first a Bachelor of Music and then a Master of Music. After his studies, Michel Reis moved to New York to delve into the professional Jazz scene, performing regularly with different groups as a leader and as a sideman. It is in New York, where Michel Reis met composer and orchestrator David Spear, who has been very influential in his career and whom he remained a student and a close friend with.
Michel Reis has collaborated with Joshua Redman, Vince Mendoza Didier Lookwood, Richard Bona, Gast Waltzing, Patrick Zimmerli, Jeff Ballard, Esperanza Spalding, George Garzone, Paul Wiltgen, Marc Demuth, Adam Cruz, Jonas Burgwinkel, Robert Landfermann, Stefan Karl Schmid, Niels Klein, Louis Moutin, Mauro Gargano, Jonathan Orland, Takashi Sugawa, Akihiro Nishiguchi, Sun Ishiwaka, Louis Moutin, Mauro Gargano and many more. Besides performing, Michel Reis works extensively as a composer, arranger and orchestrator.
His co-lead trio Reis Demuth Wiltgen collaborates on a regular basis with US saxophonist Joshua Redman, who performs several of the trio’s compositions with his own bands, including Reis’ ‘The Story Of You And Me’. They embarked on a European tour in March 2018, where one of the highlights was a concert together with the Luxembourg Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Vince Mendoza.
Michel Reis has taught workshops and masterclasses in many different parts of the world, and since 2014, he has been appointed a part-time teacher for jazz piano at the Conservatoire de la Ville de Luxembourg.
In 2005, Reis was a finalist in the First Moscow Competition for Jazz Performers. A year later, he took second prize at the Montreux Jazz Solo Piano Competition. For three times, Michel Reis won the Export Artist of the Year award from the Luxembourg export office music:LX, in 2013 and 2018 with the Reis Demuth Wiltgen Trio, and in 2014 as a solo artist.
Michel Reis is a Steinway Artist.
