Biography
Marcelo Magalhães is a pianist, composer, and researcher from Belo Horizonte, an artist whose career brings together with rare organic unity Brazilian music, jazz, and the classical tradition. He holds a Doctorate in Jazz Piano from the Eastman School of Music at the University of Rochester (USA), where he studied under the renowned pianist Harold Danko. Marcelo became the first student in the institution’s history to receive the Marian McPartland Award, a distinction granted for academic excellence and significant service to the university.
During his doctoral studies, in addition to deepening his understanding of the North American jazz tradition, Marcelo distinguished himself through his active promotion of Brazilian music within the international academic environment. His dissertation, dedicated to the musical thought of Egberto Gismonti in the work 7 Anéis, shed light on the sophistication of choro and Brazilian instrumental language, expanding cultural bridges and reinforcing his role as both performer and scholar committed to the roots and contemporary development of Brazilian music.
His academic training also includes studies at the School of Music of UFMG (Federal University of Minas Gerais), Berklee College of Music in Boston, and the Conservatoire National de Région de Nice in France. During his time in Europe, he performed in the closing concert of the Year of Brazil in France, alongside the UNESCO Symphony Orchestra, in a performance conducted by Francis Hime, reaffirming his presence in internationally significant musical contexts.
Marcelo Magalhães moves naturally across different ensembles and musical languages. In the field of concert music, he served as pianist with the Experimental Orchestra of Ouro Preto and as a soloist with the Pro-Música Orchestra of Juiz de Fora. In the Latin American repertoire, he was a member of Quinteto Dialeto, dedicated to Argentine music with special attention to the works of Astor Piazzolla. In the realm of jazz and instrumental music, he regularly participates in festivals and projects in Brazil and abroad, performing both as a soloist and in ensembles ranging from duos to big bands.
As a composer, he has built a consistent and diverse discography of original works. His first album, Paisagens de Minas (2009), marked his official debut as a composer and was released by the Karmin label, featuring comments by Russell Ferrante and participation from French saxophonist Jean-Marc Baccarini. Inspired by the mountains, waters, and atmosphere of the countryside of Minas Gerais, the album reveals a musical language that combines lyricism, harmonic refinement, and strong regional identity.
In 2018, he released Impressões, a work reflecting his experiences during his time in the United States, blending Brazilian musical roots with jazz improvisation. The album features the Polish musicians Dariusz Terefenko and Zenon Terefenko, alongside distinguished Brazilian instrumentalists, further consolidating his international musical dialogue.
That same year, he composed the Missa da Capela Magnificat, a commissioned work that demonstrates his broad aesthetic range and technical mastery. Written in Latin and inspired by the ordinary Mass of the Catholic tradition, the piece incorporates elements of modal music and Brazilian styles such as baião, choro, and samba, as well as references to gospel music. The composition places musical expression in service of the text, achieving a refined balance between scholarly tradition and Brazilian musical identity.
His output also includes Shifting Perspectives, recorded in collaboration with Doug Stone in New Orleans and released by Ears and Eyes Records, as well as Beating the Odds (2024), a continuation of that partnership. In 2026, Marcelo releases Bate Papo, alongside saxophonist Daniel Garcia, inaugurating the Luzeiro Records label—another step in his path toward artistic independence and creative expansion.
In 2023, he founded the Luzeiro Musical Lab, a label and studio dedicated to the production, recording, and dissemination of contemporary music. The space has already hosted important names from the international music scene and also serves as a platform for podcasts and recording projects that engage with diverse strands of jazz and instrumental music, reaffirming his commitment to the circulation of ideas and the promotion of original artistic creation.
With a doctoral degree, publications in specialized journals such as Per Musi (Brazil) and Ars Inter Culturas (Poland), and regular participation in festivals such as the Savassi Jazz Festival and the Rochester International Jazz Festival, Marcelo Magalhães has built a solid career grounded in research, technical excellence, and deeply sensitive musical expression.
A pianist with a refined touch, an inventive improviser, and a composer with a distinctive voice, Marcelo Magalhães is an artist who translates into sound the meeting point between Minas Gerais and the world—reaffirming the strength of the Minas Gerais artistic tradition and the presence of Brazilian music on the international stage, without ever losing the elegance, depth, and emotion that define his art.