Kurt Maas Jazz Scholarship goes to Laryssa Alves (e-bass) and Marlon Cordeiro (saxophone) from Brazil

Laryssa Alves and Marlon Cordeiro will be invited to Munich as guest students from 9 June 2025 to 6 July 2025, where they will work with students from the Jazz Institute in various workshops. They will perform live at the Kurt Maas Jazz Award 2025 prize concert on 4 July at the Isarphilharmonie in Gasteig HP8, where they will also appear alongside special guest Danilo Pérez.

Laryssa Alves began learning music theory at the age of nine and started playing e-bass at thirteen when she joined her local church orchestra. Since 2020, she has been deepening her musical education at EMESP Tom Jobim.
She has participated in festivals and musical projects both in the country and in São Paulo. She was also part of the EMESP Career Development Programme and the Sesc Instrumental Brasil Programme. In 2024, she began her undergraduate studies in music education at UNESP to expand her academic and pedagogical knowledge. She is currently a member of the instrumental samba-rock big band Banda Nova Malandragem, the Orquestra Furiosa of the Auditório Ibirapuera and the Orquestra Jovem Tom Jobim, which is affiliated with EMESP Tom Jobim.

Marlon Cordeiro, currently a student at Faculdade de Música Souza Lima and Berklee College of Music in Boston, is a saxophonist and member of Orquestra Brasil Jazz Sinfônica, which has performed with big names in Brazilian pop music such as Hermeto Pascoal and Gilberto Gil. He performs with Banda Black Rio and has worked in several bands with different formations in the city of São Paulo. He released the album Ângulos in collaboration with trombonist Feldeman Oliveira (KMJS scholarship recipient 2023) and the group FM5tet, winners of the 2024 Savassi Jovens Talentos do Jazz festival. Marlon strives to expand his musical repertoire and seeks a dialogue between tradition and innovation in his performances.

As with the first award of the scholarship in 2023, the Jazz Institute has selected two institutions in São Paulo as partners for the scholarship, both of which stand for innovative jazz education in Brazil: the Souza Lima – Conservatório e Faculdade de Música in São Paulo and the São Paulo State Music School – EMESP Tom Jobim. The Souza Lima Conservatório e Faculdade de Música, which works closely with Berklee College of Music, offers high-calibre jazz and samba jazz education. The São Paulo State Music School – EMESP Tom Jobim is a socio-cultural project that intensively promotes musical talent from a wide variety of neighbourhoods in the city. Internal competitions were held at both institutions to award the scholarship.