Matteo Mazzù is a Belgian electric bass player and composer currently living in Amsterdam.

 

Born and raised in Brussels, Belgium, Matteo spent his teenage years playing in bands playing music ranging from reggae to death metal, until he discovered the world of jazz at the age of 19.

He then studied in the Conservatoire Royal de Bruxelles with Michel Hatzigeorgiou (Aka Moon) for three years, before moving to Amsterdam to pursue his studies at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam. Throughout the years, Matteo has had lessons with, among others, Reggie Washington, Matt Penman, Evan Marien; and is currently studying with Octurn bandleader Bo van der Werf.

 

Since 2014, Matteo has been very active as a sideman, which led him to perform in venues and festivals across Europe and the US, as well as recording several full length albums.

One of them, Jake Victor 5tet’s debut release « Twisted Heads », received an award from Downbeat Magazine for « best small ensemble » in the 2018 Downbeat Student awards. This led to the band touring around New York in August 2018 and a longer Midwest tour (Chicago, Minneapolis, St Paul, Louisville…) in the summer of 2019.

 

As a sideman, some of Matteo’s projects include: Fabien Vuattoux Spear/Sparrows (FR/NL), WAAN (NL), Chai Masters (NL), Amarea (ES/NL), UsedtobeNew (NL), Ilia Rayskin’s Februarist (NL), Jake Victor’s Twisted Heads (US), Brutelleiir Collectiif (BE), Denis Baeten's Time Bomb! (BE), Lavà Collective (NL) and the Ben Fitzpatrick quintet, who won the 2021 Grachtenfestival competition.

 

As a leader, Matteo recently premiered his band Tumult, a quintet at the cross of jazz and post-rock, featuring some of Amsterdam’s most promising musicians.