Mikael Máni - Guitar Poetry

Icelandic award-winning guitarist and composer Mikael Máni will perform a selection of new and old songs from his catalog, along with some of his favorite covers. His debut solo guitar album, Guitar Poetry, was released in March 2024 on the German label ACT, one of Europe’s leading jazz labels.

Mikael is a guitarist with his very own signature style, one which does not lend itself to categorization within the usual spectrum of the instrument in jazz. His jazz leanings are more evident in his approach to playing than in any obvious affiliation with the genre or the canon. In fact, folk-derived techniques such as finger-picking, or echoes of the blues, Americana, and Nordic songs, and a unique, cinematic quality are more in evidence. But perhaps most importantly, whereas Máni plays purely instrumentally, his music - always and unmistakably - sings.

The concept of story-telling in music may have been slightly overused and become a cliché, but that, quite simply, is what Máni does: all the songs on "Guitar Poetry" tell stories, open up spaces and landscapes, draw pictures. They are the reflection of a guitarist who is as unconventional as he is musically approachable, an extroverted introvert whose whole way of being is to assert the primacy of expression and emotion.

International media have praised Mikael’s distinctive style and heartfelt musicianship. His album Guitar Poetry earned a 4.5-star review in Downbeat, one of recent decades' most respected jazz magazines. Mikael's album Innermost also won the Icelandic Music Award for Jazz Album of the Year last year. Mikael is part of the newer wave of Icelandic musicians, many of whom are gaining international recognition. His work exemplifies the innovative and boundary-pushing spirit that is a hallmark of Iceland’s vibrant music scene.

“AN IMPRESSIONISTIC GEM.” ★★★★1⁄2

• Downbeat(US)

"A STORYTELLER OF THE GUITAR WHO PROVIDES TEMPLATES FOR THE CINEMA THE LISTENERS’ HEAD.” ★★★★✩

• Concerto (AT)

“WITH GREAT INSTRUMENTAL SKILL, HE CREATES A UNIQUE SOUND COSMOS ON HIS GUITAR FROM INDIVIDUAL NOTES THAT RESONATE FOR A LONG TIME.”

• TIDNINGEN 7 (SE)