Biography
Louis Matute is a Swiss jazz guitarist, composer and bandleader, born on 28 December 1993 in Sion, Switzerland, and raised in Geneva. His father is Honduran and his mother is German. His father's musical background introduced him to Latin American music, while his mother introduced him to the music of Johann Sebastian Bach and 19th-century Romantic composers.
Matute initially studied classical guitar before becoming interested in flamenco guitar and subsequently jazz. He attended Collège Claparède in Geneva, where he received the school's music prize in 2013. He then spent a year studying with guitarist Vinz Vonlanthen at the Association pour l'encouragement de la Musique Improvisée (AMR) in Geneva before entering the Haute École de Musique de Lausanne (HEMU), where he studied with Francis Coletta. He later spent a year taking guitar lessons with Wolfgang Muthspiel and Lionel Loueke.
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Matute developed his own quartet during the mid-2010s. The group subsequently featured saxophonist Léon Phal, bassist Virgile Rosselet and drummer Nathan Vandenbulcke, and released the albums Telepathy in 2018 and How Great This World Can Be in 2020. The quartet's music combines contemporary jazz with groove, melody and influences from Latin American music.
Matute later expanded the quartet into the Louis Matute Large Ensemble, bringing together musicians from different musical backgrounds. The ensemble's repertoire incorporates jazz alongside Latin American and other international influences. Its 2022 album, Our Folklore, was inspired in part by music encountered during Matute's travels through countries including Cuba, Brazil, Colombia, Argentina, Kenya and those of the eastern Mediterranean.
Matute's music draws on his Honduran heritage as well as his experiences travelling through Latin America. His compositions incorporate elements of jazz, Latin American music, groove and contemporary popular music. The description accompanying his 2024 album Small Variations From The Previous Day specifically cites Radiohead and Ebo Taylor among the artists informing his musical approach.
In 2019, Matute's quartet won the Jazz Contreband competition, while he also received a special prize at the Cully Jazz Festival. He subsequently received the 2022 ZKB Audience Jazz Award and the Evidence Prize from the Académie du Jazz.
Small Variations From The Previous Day was released in March 2024. The album expanded the group's sound with pop-influenced melodies and vocal contributions, including those from Gabi Hartmann, while retaining elements of jazz and Latin American music.
In 2026, Matute released Dolce Vita with the Louis Matute Large Ensemble. Recorded at La Frette Studio in France, the album incorporates influences from Matute's Honduran heritage alongside Brazilian music, jazz, groove and Caribbean rock. Guest musicians include Brazilian singer Joyce Moreno, Dora Morelenbaum, Gabi Hartmann and Rico TK.
Louis Matute continues to work as a guitarist, composer and bandleader, performing with his Large Ensemble and collaborating with musicians across the European jazz scene.
Biography text from Last.fm, available under CC BY-SA.