December 13, 2025
Shai Maestro (b. 1987) is one of the leading voices in contemporary jazz piano, known for a uniquely lyrical sound combined with cutting-edge rhythmic imagination, sophisticated odd-meter writing, and a deep sense of narrative in improvisation. Based in Spain after ten formative years in New York City, he has built a wide-ranging international career as a pianist, composer, bandleader, and collaborator across genres.

Maestro first came to global attention at nineteen when he joined Avishai Cohen’s trio, touring extensively and contributing to several landmark recordings. During his decade in New York, he developed strong artistic relationships and performed for five years in Ari Hoenig’s band while collaborating with major figures such as Mark Turner, Larry Grenadier, Jeff Ballard, Nasheet Waits, Joel Ross, Ben Wendel, and Michael Mayo. He appears on Mayo’s album Fly, nominated for two Grammy Awards.

In 2018 Maestro began recording for ECM Records, establishing a close working relationship with producer Manfred Eicher. Their collaborations brought international acclaim for their clarity, atmosphere, and emotional depth. After this ECM chapter, Maestro transitioned to the French label Naïve, where he released his first solo piano album, Miniatures and Tales. Intimate and distilled, the album presents a collection of short-form pieces that balance composed miniatures with improvised reflections, revealing a highly personal, narrative-driven approach to the piano and marking a new chapter in his artistic voice. He continued expanding his sonic world with The Guesthouse, a large-scale project bringing together acoustic piano, electronics, production work, field recordings, and collaborations with MARO, Immanuel Wilkins, and Michael Mayo. Conceived as both a musical and philosophical framework inspired by the idea of welcoming contrasting inner and outer states, The Guesthouse represents Maestro’s most expansive and multidisciplinary work to date and is scheduled for release in March 2026.

A versatile and inquisitive composer, Maestro has written music for films, performed classical concertos with orchestras, and in 2024 completed a fifty-minute orchestral work commissioned and premiered in Portugal. His collaborative range also extends to flamenco musicians such as Rafael de Utrera (of Paco de Lucía’s group) and to renowned Cuban artists, including conga legend Machito, known for his deep roots of Afro-Cuban tradition and rumba in particular. Alongside his performing and compositional activity, Maestro is an active educator, having worked with The New School in New York, teaching masterclasses internationally, and maintaining a dedicated practice of working with private students.

He continues to tour worldwide, develop multidisciplinary collaborations, and explore new territories at the intersection of improvisation, composition, technology, and cross-cultural dialogue.