The Guesthouse is about collaboration, inclusion, and the essence of welcoming which is the essence of an open door. It's my most ambitious project to date, sonically and compositionally. It involves so many incredibly talented people: some are in the front, playing music together with me, offering their insight, time, effort, and love, and some incredibly talented and hardworking people are behind the scenes, facilitating, allowing, and inspiring me to keep pushing forward. Musically speaking, the color palette on The Guesthouse is huge. It introduces many musical guests that I admire deeply: MARO, Immanuel Wilkins, Michael Mayo, and many more. It includes lyric writing for the first time, electronic instruments, guitars, trumpets, flutes, flamenco musicians, in-depth production work, my quartet, solo piano, odd meter explorations, improvisations, songs with no time, strings, two pianos conversing and more and more and more.. I dove as deep as I could into these deep waters. The result is my attempt to turn the creative chaos that lives in mind mind into one coherent artistic statement, always having a simple melody as a thread that tells the story of this collective. Shai Maestro Shai Maestro (b. 1987) is one of the most inventive and influential pianists of his generation. Since debuting with his own trio in 2011, he has developed a distinctive musical voice that is fluid, expressive, and profoundly lyrical. His artistry has made him a defining figure in contemporary jazz, merging improvisation, composition, and global influences into a sound that is both cinematic and deeply personal. Maestro began studying classical piano at the age of five and discovered jazz at eight through the recordings of Keith Jarrett and Oscar Peterson. At nineteen, he joined bassist Avishai Cohen's trio, co-writing the acclaimed Gently Disturbed and performing worldwide. In 2011, he formed his own trio, recording six albums that solidified his reputation as a singular voice in modern jazz. His years with ECM Records, under the guidance of Manfred Eicher, placed him among the lineage of pianists such as Keith Jarrett, Paul Bley, and Chick Corea. With drummer Ofri Nehemya and bassist Jorge Roeder, he recorded his first ECM album "The Dream Thief", later joined by trumpeter Philip Dizack for the second - "Human", both expanding the expressive language of the modern jazz quartet. Today, Maestro continues to evolve artistically with a new quartet featuring keyboardist Gadi Lehavi, drummer Ofri Nehemya, and bassist Jorge Roeder. Gadi, the new wild card in the group, brings a distinctive energy and vision; his presence as another pianist opens fresh possibilities for dialogue, texture, and experimentation between two keyboards. This lineup functions as a powerful, cohesive engine driving Maestro's musical exploration, blending jazz improvisation with modern production into a sound that is organic, cinematic, and forward-looking. In 2025, Maestro signed a long-term partnership with the Paris-based label naive records, a defining milestone that opened an expansive new chapter in his artistic life. The collaboration with naive marked a moment of renewal and bold creative ambition, setting the stage for a period of profound exploration. The first fruit of this partnership was his solo piano album, Solo: Miniatures & Tales. Introspective and deeply personal, it revealed the most intimate side of Maestro's artistry; a work of quiet reflection, nuance, and restraint. This album stands in deliberate contrast to the broader, outward-looking vision of his forthcoming project, The Guesthouse, highlighting the duality at the heart of Maestro's creative world: the tension between introspection and expansion. In March 2026, Maestro will release The Guesthouse, a record that features Portuguese singer MARO alongside Immanuel Wilkins, and Michael Mayo. The album represents a bold leap forward, combining the sensitivity of modern jazz with electronic sound design and the harmonic depth of classical music. The Guesthouse creates a lush, cinematic space where boundaries dissolve, embodying Maestro's exploration of openness and collaboration.

RVB Quartet They bring a mix between rock and jazz which results in a refreshing sound. Interaction, improvisation and groove are the main ingredients that ensure vibrant compositions and crisp live performances. Hamabiwa The quartet feels like kings when they can play like children and let loose on their instruments. Hazel, Bibi, Marius (the little one) and Walt are the inspiration for this album.

For Jakob's Mirror, composer and saxophonist Robin Verheyen (b. 1983) sought inspiration far from home, retreating to the Albers Foundation in Connecticut to reflect on the life and work of painter Jakob Smits (1855-1928). Smits, who settled in the Belgian Campine and captured it's light and landscapes in a personal, timeless style, became a guide for Verheyen's own exploration of identity, memory, and belonging. Rather than translating Smits' canvases literally, Verheyen immersed himself in their atmosphere, while also listening to the music of Smits' era, including Flemish folk songs-one of which briefly surfaces in the score. Written for the Goeyvaerts String Trio and percussionist Robin Schulkowsky, the work weaves together European harmonic traditions, jazz's rhythmic vitality, and echoes of Verheyen's roots in the Campine. Jakob's Mirror is both homage and self-portrait: a meditation on landscape, light, and the enduring pull of home.

Peter, Marc, Roland, and I came together for the first time in 2015 to start working on my ideas for this new quartet. Over the past ten years, we four became more and more familiar, both musically and personally. Even if something unexpected happens while playing, we usually find a good way to handle it. There is no fear-but trust. In my opinion, this is the most important foundation for developing musical expression and an individual band sound. Discovery of Lightness is our third album. But despite what you might associate with the album title, this seems to be the most challenging stuff we've worked on so far.

Here We Are finds acclaimed jazz vocalist Lori Williams at the heart of a soulful, cross-continental collaboration with top-tier European jazz artists. Born out of friendships from the Poysdorf Summer Jazz Workshop, the album blends original songs and timeless standards with Brazilian grooves, romantic ballads, and classic swing. Williams' warm, expressive voice shines across each track whether delivering heartfelt lyrics or improvising with grace and nuance. Backed by a band that listens and responds as one, Here We Are is a celebration of connection, creativity, and the joy of making music together.