VI.BE

It was to the sound of J.S. Bach's “Well-Tempered Clavier” that Maël Jacques Idris Mercier was born in Braine-Alleud, Belgium, on August 17, 2004, to a North-African, Kabyle mother and a European, Belgian jazz musician as a father. As children, he and his little brother grew up with their saxophonist father as their only parent. They therefore follow him on the roads and are constantly bathed in music.

He remembers nights he spent trying to fall asleep in the touring minibus, straining his ears to listen to concerts outdoors in the south of France.

In his memory also remain the hundreds of performances of his father and grandfather, telling and playing the history of jazz, him and his brother holding the bar in exchange for a packet of crisps and a fresh soda as pay of the evening.

After several private music lessons, Maël opted for the piano and left the academy after two years of classical studies. At the age of twelve, he immersed himself in musical humanities at the famous Kunsthumaniora in Brussels. There, he meets his peers and can finally develop his passion for jazz. Maël already obtained his secondary school diploma at the age of sixteen and attends the two Brussels Conservatories. There are classes with a.o. Eric Legnini, Nathalie Loriers and Vincent Bruyninckx.

Maël successfully graduated from the Bachelor degree at the Koninklijk Conservatorium van Brussel at the age of 18. At the moment, Maël is is doing his master studies at the internationally renowned conservatory of Basel, JazzCampus. Winner of the Dinant Jazz Contest - Young Talents 2023. Winner of the DownBeat Student Music Award - 47th edition, 2024. Wynton Marsalis noticed Maël at the age of 14, and will later be responsible for the strong relationship he has with his mentor Nduduzo Makhathini with whom he regularly gets lesson from.

Meanwhile, he also got lesson with Aaron Parks, Micah Thomas, Shaï Maestro, Lionel Loueke, Larry Grenadier, Jeff Ballard, Chris Cheek, ... Hamilton de Holanda, Grégoire Maret, Kenny Werner, which he opened their concerts more recently, noticed Maël and will spend some time giving advices to him which he never will forget.