After a very intense April — concerts, Jazzahead, traveling, and many beautiful moments on the road — May became a quieter month.

Less performing, more writing.
A lot of time spent working on new music, ideas, and everything surrounding PEOPLE. PLACES, the new album coming out this August.

This month also marked the end of the crowdfunding campaign for the record, which was an incredible experience from beginning to end. I’m deeply grateful for all the support, messages, and trust the project received along the way.

And somewhere in between all of that: some much needed quality time with my Fio and Simon ❤️

More soon.

Last week felt like a small journey.

Three nights, three cities — each one with its own energy.
Vienna (ZWE) — first time with my band in Vienna, full house and playing after long time with Sebas and Miloš.
Graz (Orpheum) — opening for Jazzwerkstatt, great stage even better energy.
Ljubljana (Prulček) — first time in Slovenia, good end of the week and some kilometers with the guys.

In between, a short stop in Bremen for Jazzahead — many conversations, new connections, good momentum.

Still carrying all of it and looking forward for some more concerts with my 4tet in the 2nd half of the year.

You can check some pictures in my Instagram post

(Picture by Kuro Simon)

Back in Vienna after a little over two months in Buenos Aires. I’m so happy to have escaped the harsh winter, to have spent time with friends and family after more than a year, and above all, I’m thrilled to have shared music again with old and new friends and fellow musicians.

There were four concerts, each at a different venue and each with its own unique atmosphere.
New quartet, with Lucas Goicoechea, Juan Bayón, and Bruno Varela, and we were lucky enough to have the great Heinrich von Kalnein as a special guest at the concert in Prez. I’m really looking forward to bringing this quartet to Europe, and I’m already working on it.

And as a bonus, a fantastic concert at the Bebop Club with the good old 11-piece band and special guest Laura Iaies, singing an arrangement of “Adela en el Carrousel” (Charly Garcia) that I wrote especially for this concert.

You can check some impressions of this tour in my Instagram post.

I am very happy to be spending the summer in Argentina (European winter) after a couple of years, and above all to have the opportunity to play much more than on other trips.

I will be playing again with my 11-piece band, performing some of the music we recorded on the album due out at the end of 2026, as well as some new arrangements, but also presenting a new quartet, playing a mix of new unreleased songs and some old hits.

If you are in Buenos Aires or the surrounding area, it would be great to see you at one of the shows. The dates and links for tickets are on the shows page.

On October 6th I returned to the stage with my quartet after a brief hiatus due to becoming a father.
On one hand, I felt the joy of being invited to perform at the 20th anniversary of the legendary Blue Monday series at Theater im Keller in Zeltweg, Austria. Many colleagues, mentors, and even some of my musical heroes have played on that stage, so it was an honor to be part of such a special occasion.

On the other hand, I faced the challenge of presenting a new group. Performing with new musicians is always an adventure—especially when you’re the one “leading” the band. But the reward is hearing how others bring fresh ideas to my music. This concert was no exception: Nikolaus Holler on alto sax, Jakob Gönitzer on double bass, and Gaj Bostič on drums brought a great deal of talent and freshness to my compositions.

We played to a full house, which added an incredible sense of energy. At the end of the set, the audience asked for an encore, so I brought back an old bolero-style arrangement of the standard Alone Together. The link is below—hope you enjoy it!

 

After an intense summer on a personal level, with the great challenge of becoming a father, I am slowly getting back to my usual routine.

This coming Monday, 6 October, I will be premiering a new quartet featuring Nikolaus Höller on saxophones, Jakob Gönitzer on double bass and Gaj Bostič on drums.

We will be playing my music, performing for the first time in the city of Zeltweg, as part of the legendary Blue Monday concert series.

All the information is on the flyer or in the concerts section. If you are in the area, please feel free to come along!

 

As many of you maybe know, in the last time I start receiving works in commision for composing and/or arranging for several Big Bands.

In the last couple months I was lucky to conduct in April the KUG Jazz Orchestra (Graz, Austria) playing an arrangement of my original composition “GRAZ”, and then again arranging an original by singer Lilli Kornhuber, “CREEPIN”, for the same Orchestra. I will try to post some videos of both concerts in the coming months.

On next sunday 31.8 the RADLJE Big Band (Slovenia), conducted by the great and young rising star Jordi Roviró will play an arrangement of the Bossa classic “Chega de Saudade”, I wrote specially for this time, which will feature the amazing Eva Moreno.

If you´re around, don´t hesitate coming to the concert, it´s gonna be a latin blast. Hope also to post soon some videos of that performing.

By questions or thoughts regarding my works as arranger/composer, don´t hesitate writing through my contact form.

 

A few days ago, we played again with my 11tet, this time at a very special concert for me personally, my graduation concert for my master's degree in jazz composition and arrangement at the Kunstuniversität Graz.

It has been a long, challenging but exciting journey since I came to Austria in 2019: two master's degrees, a lot of learning, many new friends, one album already released and another about to be released.

I am very grateful to all the teaching staff at the university, as well as to the employees who make studying there a pleasure every day.

And, of course, to the incredible musicians with whom I am lucky enough to share a band and who bring their personal touch to my music.

There are great things to come in the future, and much more time to invest in my writing and my guitar. Stay tuned, there will be news soon!

The year is slowly wrapping up (at least if you think of summer as the finish line), and although the past few months have been intense in many ways, I haven’t played live all that much.

That said, I saved three big ones for the final stretch—three shows I’m really excited about in the coming weeks.

This Tuesday, June 17, I’ll be playing with my Chamber Ensemble (Ivana Rus on clarinet, Connor Gentry on trombone, and Siul Angel Prado on cello)—a group where I’m trying out new ideas in composition and orchestration. It’s still an experimental project, but one I hope will be very active in the coming months.

On Friday, June 20, I’ll have the pleasure of playing at Porgy & Bess for the first time in a long while—this time with the Vienna Composers Big Band, an incredible project led by Jordi Roviró and Jonas Friesel. We’ll be playing Jordi’s music, which is seriously great stuff.

And on July 1, I’ll be back in Graz with my 11tet, performing the music we recorded in February, which will be featured on my third album, scheduled for release in 2026.

Hope to see some of you in any of those concerts!

Next Friday, January 24, we will be playing live again in Graz with the 11tet.

It will be our last concert before entering the studio to record the group's first album, so it will be great to play for you all the music that we will soon be recording.

The venue is Kräftner, a new club that is making a great contribution to the city's cultural scene.

See the flyer for details.

After the sold-out premiere in Prez in September, it was almost mandatory to bring 11tet back to Buenos Aires, so I'm returning to Argentina to play with the group this coming Thursday, December 5, this time at BEBOP Club, one of the leading venues for international jazz in South America.

The group is tremendous:

On brass, Guido Dommarco and Ramiro Lesbegueris on trumpets and Lautaro Quipildor on trombone.

The sax section is a real treat, with Andrés Tarditti, Leo Paganini, Lucas Goicochea, and Juan Ignacio Sanchez.

And a killer rhythm section with Adrián Iaies on piano, Santiago Lamisovsky on double bass, and Bruno Varela on drums.

Don't wait to get your tickets, they're going fast. Hope to see you there!

After a well-deserved rest in Argentina, I am returning to Austria for an intense autumn.
Quite a few dates in different formats (duos, trios, 11tet!), playing original music but also standards, and sharing with many friends.
At the same time working and finalizing details for the recording of the 1st album of the MARTIN IAIES 11tet, of which I will give you details soon.

Check the dates, I hope to see you in one of them!

Next Saturday, September 21, I will have the pleasure of debuting my 11tet in Argentina.

We will play a long set at Prez Jazz Club, one of the best jazz clubs in Buenos Aires, with an amazing group.

On brass, Mariano Loiácono and Ramiro Lesbegueris on trumpets and Lautaro Quipildor on trombone.

The sax section is a real treat, with Andrés Tarditti, Leo Paganini, Lucas Goicochea, and Juan Ignacio Sanchez.

And a killer rhythm section with Adrián Iaies on piano, Santiago Lamisovsky on double bass, and Bruno Varela on drums.

We've already been rehearsing, and the group sounds amazing, so if you're in Buenos Aires, don't miss it!

 

Some weeks ago I posted about the concert we did in the OH-KUG Jazz Fest on May 24th, opening for Jure Pukl´s Quartet.

The first video of that night is out in my Youtube Channel!

Martin Iaies 4 - “Zamba para Fio” (M. Iaies)

Kaan Karadavut - Flugelhorn
Tobias Melcher - Doublebass
Elias Pivec - Drums
Martin Iaies - Electric Guitar / Composition

Video: Matthias Kessler (Kessler Records)
Sound: Leon Merkel

Last Thursday, May 25th, the possibility of being part of the 1st jazz festival organized by OH-KUG came up at the last minute.

The program was quite varied (solo sets, duo, trio) and had a luxury closing by Jure Pukl playing with his quartet. 

I played for this occasion with my quartet formed by Kaan Karadavut on flugelhorn, Tobias Melcher on double bass and Elias Pivec on drums.
Kaan has been part of my projects for the last time and with Tobi we had played in my first concerts in Austria in 2019, before he traveled to Switzerland to do his master and study with Larry Grenadier. And it was the first time I shared the stage with Elias Pivec, with whom I will surely play often in the future.

Last week I had the pleasure of conducting the KUG Jazz Orchestra again.

I had already done it in 2022 but this time it was an original composition of mine, "In an unknown mood", a piece I wrote inspired by the idea of expatriation and all the good and bad that it implies.

Last Tuesday, March 28th, I had the pleasure and happiness of presenting live my new project, the Martin Iaies 10tet.

Like everyone, the pandemic and its restrictions made me change a lot. In the strictly musical aspect, the fact of not being able to play with people for a long time made me focus on composition. I always composed, long before even playing jazz, but always thinking that those compositions were to be played as soon as possible.
During the pandemic I was lucky enough to study online with Johannes Berauer, a tremendous Austrian composer and teacher. And during the continuity of the classes, Johannes was motivating me to write for larger ensembles than I was used to play, and even in formats where perhaps there was no guitar. In other words, to write music that I was not going to play, or at least not in the medium term.

The work done with Johannes I continued over the last year and a half with Ed Partyka, another incredible teacher, musician, composer and conductor. And last 28th I was able to premiere this group playing a set of 7 compositions combining original compositions and arrangements of Argentine standards and folk music.

The group is completed by:
Jonathan Herrgesell: alto and soprano saxophones and clarinet.
Klara Lavriša: alto and soprano saxophones and clarinet
Tobias Hoffmann: tenor saxophone and clarinet
Miloš Kostár: baritone saxophone and bass clarinet
Kaan Karadavut: trumpet and flugelhorn
Matthias Bernsteiner: trombone
Thomas Quendler: piano
Jernej Vindšnurer: double bass
Andreas Reisenhofer: drums

Next Wednesday, December 7 we will be playing at Miles Jazz Bar with my 4tet: Jonathan Herrgesell on alto and soprano saxophones, Miloš Čolović on double bass and Andreas Reisenhofer on drums.

It will be the first concert of the group in several months, and maybe the last for another several months, already thinking about the presentation of the album we recorded in May and will be released next fall.

I hope you can come along, the band is on fire!

Next Friday November 11th we will be playing at Cafe Kaiserfeld with this new international quartet composed by Jesse Vilhomaa (alto sax), Jernej Vindšnurer (double bass), Gloria Handler (drums) and me on guitar.

We will be playing some of my and Jernej's compositions as well as some arrangements on standards brought by Jesse.

We hope you can come!