Martin Salemi – Pianist/Composer
Welcome to the website of belgian pianist and composer Martin Salemi. Here you can find tour dates, pictures, videos, discography, press reviews, scores and music. Thank you for visiting !
Martin Salemi was born in Brussels in 1988. His parents are both artists. His father, who plays the guitar, initiated him to music at a very early age. He started learning the piano aged six and, in 2013, completed his jazz piano master’s degree with distinction at the Koninklijk Conservatorium van Brussel.
Martin is currently involved in two personal projects. OPMOC, who have recorded three albums and have toured intensely all over Europe for the past ten years, and the Martin Salemi Trio, who released their first album in 2017 under the IGLOO Records label and played in festivals and stages from UK to Azerbaijan and Italy. As a sideman, he has played and recorded in different genres such as jazz, pop, funk, world music… Notably, he explores regularly the standard repertoire with doublebass phenomenon Manolo Cabras (IT) and young rising belgian star Gaspard Sicx in the trio Salemi/Cabras/Sicx, and play keyboards in the belgian band Otto Kintet, who have released three albums since 2016.
Prolific composer, he also writes music for theater and cinema. Among others, he worked with the likes of Rimini Protokoll (DE), the belgian film-maker Luc Jabon and the companies La Berlue and L’Anneau.
In 2018, Martin won the B-Jazz International Award with his trio.
“About Time”, the second album with the Martin Salemi Trio was released on october 1st 2021 on IGLOO Records. Buy here or Stream here.
« I really can’t praise this album highly enough. If the reader gets the feeling from the above review that I didn’t quite describe Salemi’s playing in enough detail, it is only because there is so much detail that it’s better to just listen and not analyze too much. Get it! »
Lynn René Bayley, Artmusiclounge (US), about “Short Stories” IGLOO Records
« Het spel van Salemi is echter van zulk hoog niveau, zowel emotievol als speltechnisch, en de samenwerking tussen hem en de ritmesectie zo fijn, dat dit trio net zo gemakkelijk tussen al die vernieuwende Belgische bands internationaal grote indruk kan maken. »
Dick Hovenga – WrittenInMusic
« Ca fait du bien d’écouter un album de jazz contemporain qui ne cherche pas à tout prix des sonorités inouïes […] La musique est fraîche, joyeuse, dansante »
Jean-Claude Vantroyen, Le Soir
« Van begin tot einde zuiver akoestisch zonder electronics en toch klopte het plaatje. Respect! »
Georges Tonla Briquet, Jazz’ Halo
« Les compositions du leader sont toutes délectables. Non seulement, elles ont du caractère mais, ni démonstratives ni appliquées, elles sont aussi mémorables par leur côté mélodieux »
Pierre Dulieu, Dragonjazz
« Voici à coup sûr la belle surprise jazz de la rentrée […] Fragrances variées et complètement assumées […] qui révèle un doigté subtil et volubile à la fois »
Jean-Pierre Goffin, Vers L’Avenir
« Martin Salemi est un bel exemple de ce que peut être le jazz aujourd’hui: une musique qui se nourrit de toutes les musiques, libérée de ses carcans d’autrefois. »
Laurent Graulus, Musiq3
« Le jeu est soyeux et chaleureux. Entre la contrebasse qui bat le temps en s’offrant quelques libertés et la batterie qui susurre le tempo, la complicité est parfaite.“
Jacques Prouvost – Jazzques
« On est très loin d’un jazz cérébral et hermétique […] Ce sont des mélodies qui accrochent tout de suite, sans tomber non plus dans la facilité. C’est délicat, ça swingue, tout en finesse […] absolument remarquable. »
Xavier Vanbuggenhout, RTBF La Première
« … There’s nothing cryptic about his superb playing…»
Jim Gilchrist, The Scotsman (UK)
Next Concerts
Here you can find my upcoming tour dates. Hope to see you there!
More infos about schedule, line-up and a list of past concerts on the concert page.
• 16/10/2021 – Martin Salemi Trio – Centre Culturel – Rossignol, Belgium
• 24/10/2021 – Théo Zipper Quartet – The Music Village – Brussels, Belgium
• 01/11/2021 – Martin Salemi Trio – New Album Release – Riches-Claires – Brussels, Belgium
• 06/11/2021 – Martin Salemi Trio – Jünglingshaus – Eupen, Belgium
• 07/11/2021 – Martin Salemi Trio – Relais Jazz – Tourinnes-la-Grosse, Belgium
• 11/11/2021 – Swing-O-Box – Entre Les Lignes – Brussels, Belgium
• 12/11/2021 – Boris Schmidt/Martin Salemi Duo – Louvain-La-Neuve, Belgium
• 13/11/2021 – Martin Salemi Trio – Jazz9 – Mazy, Belgium
• 17/11/2021 – Martin Salemi Trio – Rideau Rouge – Lasne, Belgium
• 18/11/2021 – Martin Salemi Trio – Le Club – Comines, Belgium
• 19/11/2021 – Martin Salemi Trio – L’An Vert – Liège, Belgium
• 25/11/2021 – Free Funk Boogie Backlash – Bar de la Mule – Brussels, Belgium
• 04/12/2021 – Valley Of Josaphat – Winok – Brussels, Belgium
News
On tour! Starting this Saturday 🙂
See you at one of those shows ? 👀
Thanks to @leslundisdhortense !
Recording with my dad on guitar ! 🎵🎶
Today is release day ! My album is available on all streaming platforms and on @igloorec website via the link in bio ! :)) 🎹🎶👀🥳
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@sandra.corbisier @borisschmidtmusic #danieljonkers @debastvincent @leslundisdhortense #vincentblairon #jazzinbelgium #jazzinbrussels #martinsalemitrio #igloorecords
My new album is coming out this friday on @igloorec ! You can already pre-save it on your streaming service or pre-order it on Igloo’s website ! Link in bio 🎹☺️🤗🤗
My new album is here ! :)) 🥳
Releasing this friday October 1st ! And the single « Doubt » is now on all streaming platforms -> link in bio !:))
The album is already available on pre-order at IGLOO Records http://www.igloorecords.be 👀
With @borisschmidtmusic on doublebass, #danieljonkers on drums, @debastvincent for thé sound, @jeanclaudesalemi for the cover, #vincentblairon for the picture and @sandra.corbisier for the design ! And of course @igloorec for the whole ! :))
And now for the release tour made possible by @leslundisdhortense 🎵🎵
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#martinsalemitrio #igloorecords #jazzinbelgium #newalbum #jazzinbrussels #pianotrio #newrelease
Mothership at @bonnefooimusic last week 🎹🎹🎹👀
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#clavinet #clavinetd6 #prophet06 #vintagekeyboards #synthporn @rhodes.piano @vintagevibe #rhodesmarkv #sequentialprophet6 #bonnefooibrussels #gearporn #rhodeskeyboard #instakeys
New tune on Spotify and other platforms too :)) check it out ! 🎹 link in bio !🎵🎵
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@borisschmidtmusic #danieljonkers @igloorec #martinsalemitrio #jazzinbelgium #newtune #pianotrio #jazzpiano #linocut @1030cultuur #jazzinbrussels #belgianjazz #igloorecords #instamusicians #instapiano @debastvincent #doubt
New single out now !
« Doubt » - Martin Salemi
Available on all platforms -> link in bio !
Here’s a little teaser to the full music video coming soon :))
New album coming out in one week on @igloorec ! 🥳
A bit of soloing on the Prophet06 😝 From yesterday night at the jam at @bonnefooimusic with Free Funk Boogie Backlash ( @gaspardsicx and #jacobmiller ) 🎹 thanks to @saad_keys for the video ! 🙏
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#prophet06 #keyboardsolo #sequentialprophet6 #hitmebabyonemoretime #bonnefooi #bonnefooibrussels #jaminbrussels #instakeyboard #keyboardplayer #freefunkboogiebacklash #opmoc
