María Grand is a saxophonist, composer, educator, and vocalist. She moved to New York City in 2011. She has since become an important member of the city’s creative music scene, performing extensively in projects including musicians such as Vijay Iyer, Craig Taborn, Jen Shyu, Steve Lehman, Aaron Parks, Marcus Gilmore, Jonathan Finlayson, Miles Okazaki, etc.

Her debut EP “TetraWind” was picked as “one of the 2017’s best debuts” by the NYC Jazz Record. The New York Times says “on TetraWind, Ms Grand unfurls a teetering logic. [..] She is both measured and frank, often venturing into gentle provocation”. María is a recipient of the 2017 Jazz Gallery Residency Commission and the 2018 Roulette Jerome Foundation Commission. She can be heard on Steve Coleman’s albums “Morphogenesis” and “Synovial Joints”. She was deemed a “revelation” by Jazz Magazine in 2016; AllAboutJazz said of her saxophone playing that it is “full of passion and sophisticated phrases and turns”, while the NYC Jazz Record says “Grand’s aching saxophone has the richness of the great breathy tenors of jazz history—Coleman Hawkins, Ben Webster, Gene Ammons.” Vijay Iyer recently picked her as one of 5 musicians to watch for in 2018 in an article published on sfjazz.org - he said of her that she is “a fantastic young saxophonist, virtuosic, conceptually daring, with a lush tone, a powerful vision, and a deepening emotional resonance, María is poised to move this music forward with grace, strength, and passion.”

DiaTribe is Grand’s main leader project. She continues and deepens the elements started with “TetraWind” with her new album “Magdalena”, released on Biophilia Records on May 11th, 2018. With this album she continues a long standing musical relationship that provides the trust and freedom necessary for the exploration of spontaneous composition.

María has performed across genres, appearing with mezzo-soprano Alicia Hall Moran in her Breaking Ice piece premiered at Prototype Festival in NYC and MassMoca; she is a member of the Doug Hammond quintet, as well as with RAJAS, an ensemble led by Carnatic musician Rajna Swaminathan, and Ouroboros, led by Grammy Award winner alto saxophonist Román Filiú,. She has toured Europe, the United States, and South America, playing in venues and festivals such as the Village Vanguard in NYC, La Villette Jazz Festival in Paris, Saafelden Jazz Festival in Austria, Millennium Park in Chicago, the Blue Whale in LA, IloJazz in Guadeloupe (FR), and many others.