Nil Mujal

He first stepped onto a stage at sixteen, with a group playing their own songs and an orchestra from his home town. At eighteen he broadened his musical training in order to become a professional. He came to the blues through jazz and through playing with musicians who straddled both styles. A virtuoso and versatile player, he has played with more than fifty ensembles of different styles: jazz, blues, soul or reggae, always seduced by the undeniable connection between the blues and jazz: “The way they intertwine and allow you to play with the music, whether in a more visceral or a more reflective manner.” And this is borne out by his artistic references, which include Lester Young, Sonny Rollins, Duke Ellington, Billie Holliday or John Coltrane. This command of African-American music has allowed him to accompany artists from the Barcelona scene such as Eduard Gener, Chino Swingslide or Emma Fernández. In his own words, the blues has given him expressiveness, sincerity, a direct connection with the audience and a personal and artistic world: “It has given me the chance to discover great musicians and colleagues, whom I would surely never have come across had it not been for this scene.”