Vocalist, composer, and multi-instrumentalist Mar Vilaseca was born in 1998, in Barcelona, Spain. Mar grew up in a musical environment and learned how to play and sing at a very young age, being exposed to a wide variety of music. She was classically trained in piano and traditional harmony at the Conservatorio del Liceo. At the age of 14, she started singing professionally in her father’s band, where she began her career in jazz and modern music.
“Mar doesn’t just perform music, she is music” – Hermeto Pascoal
Mar finished her classical studies in 2016 and despite her love for classical piano, she decided to focus her career on vocal jazz. She was accepted at the Escuela Superior de Música de Catalunya, where she studied her undergraduate degree in Jazz Voice Performance, graduating in 2020. During those college years, Mar became more and more passionate about the music and history of jazz and took her first of many trips to New York City. The diversity of culture and music captivated her, and soon she would decide to move to the United States. In 2020, before taking that step, she released her first album entitled Find the Way, which presents all original compositions. The recording was released by a British Label named Ubuntu Music.
Subsequently, Mar moved to New York to study her Master of Music in Jazz Studies at The Juilliard School, with Professors Wynton Marsalis, Carla Cook, Elio Villafranca, Kenny Washington, and Donald Vega among others. She gained experience in such different music majors including performance, education, music business, arranging and production, and she expanded her repertoire in multiple music genres. She graduated in 2022 with the Juilliard Career Advancement Fellowship Award.
Mar has collaborated with numerous artists from different parts of the world, including Emmet Cohen, Elio Villafranca, Joe Saylor, José Madera, Ravi Chari, Benny Benack III, Jonathan Barber, and The Steven Feifke Big Band among others. She has performed at various international music festivals such as Barcelona Jazz Festival, Festival de Jazz de San Javier (Spain), Guangzhou Jazz Festival (China), and Festival de Jazz de Bogotá (Colombia). She has played in acclaimed jazz clubs in the United States, for instance Birdland Jazz Club, Jazz at Lincoln Center, The Django Jazz Club, Smalls Jazz Club, The Jazz Gallery, The Jazz Showcase, Winter’s Jazz Club and Chris’ Jazz Café. She has also participated in commercial music projects, which include televised advertisements, movie overdubs, film scoring, and fashion events.
Mar Vilaseca is currently pursuing her career in the United States. Her latest project includes a collection of original songs about relationships, leaving home, and the pursuit of self. It’s scheduled to be released in 2023, stay tuned!