Gerry Lopez

Mexican saxophonist, composer and bandleader Gerry Lopez builds bridges between Latin American memory and contemporary jazz. Based in Switzerland, his music brings together the lyricism of the Mexican songbook, Afro-Cuban and Brazilian rhythms, European chamber music and the freedom of improvisation — a sound at once cinematic, rhythmically alive and deeply personal. A graduate of the Conservatoire de Paris, with further studies in composition, conducting and pedagogy in Bern, Lopez has received the French National Jazz Prize and first prizes at the Saint-Germain-des-Prés and Pan-American Jazz Saxophone competitions. His career also includes nominations for Les Victoires du Jazz, the Grammy Awards and the Latin Grammy Awards. Across eight albums as a leader, he has collaborated with artists including Marina Viotti, Alain Pérez, Camille Bertault, Michael Pipoquinha, Axel Tosca and Alfred Thompson. His recordings move naturally from intimate ensembles to the full power of a big band, always led by a distinctive saxophone voice. His new project, Dialogues, brings together a saxophone quintet and percussion in a vivid conversation between Mexico, Cuba, Brazil and Europe. Gerry Lopez is artistic director of the New Fribourg Jazz Orchestra, teaches at the Conservatoire de Fribourg, and is a Selmer Paris and Vandoren artist.