RUTGER MATHYS / MAËL IDRIS DUO

Rutger Mathys is regarded as one of the most promising young talents on the Belgian and Dutch jazz scenes today. The chromatic harmonica player graduated Cum Laude in 2024 from the jazz department of the Conservatory of Rotterdam. He has already performed with legends such as Philip Catherine and Bert Joris and has appeared at festivals including the Ghent, Brussels and North Sea Jazz Festivals. He has won several awards, including the Toots Thielemans Challenge in 2022 and the Dinant Jazz Contest in 2023. In 2024, he was selected by the radio station Klara as one of its “Twintigers”, and his music is regularly broadcast there. None other than internationally renowned conductor Dirk Brossé, with whom Rutger has also collaborated, calls him the jazz voice of his generation. Between concerts around the world — in Europe, Asia and South America — Rutger will perform at our festival as a promising young star together with Maël Idris, with whom he has formed a duo since 2022.

Maël Idris is a gifted Belgian jazz pianist. He grew up following his saxophonist father on the roads and was constantly surrounded by music. He started studying classical piano at the academy. At the age of 12, he studied at the Kuntshumaniora in Brussels, where he developed his passion for jazz. At 16, he attended the Brussels Royal Conservatory and took classes with Eric Legnini, Nathalie Loriers, and Vincent Bruyninckx among others. After successfully graduating from the conservatory, he is now doing his Master’s at the internationally renowned Basel Academy of Music in Switzerland. Wynton Marsalis noticed Maël at the age of 14, and would later be responsible for the strong relationship he has with his mentor Nduduzo Makhathini with whom he regularly gets lesson from. Meanwhile, he also learned from Aaron Parks, Hamilton de Holanda, Grégoire Maret, and Kenny Werner.