MATHEI FLOREA NEW GROUNDS
Berlin-based modern-nordic jazz band inspired by Petros Klampanis and Arvo Pärt
“It is above all ‘beautiful’ in the conventional European-classical sense. It sounds uplifting, ingenious atmospheric. The jazz rhythms integrate quite seamlessly into the whole.” – Jazzthetik
“Snap is an entre at the highest level, opening up infinite associative spaces for the listeners.” – Wolf Kampmann
Mathei Florea New Grounds is an eight-member Berlin-based modern-nordic jazz band. When combining a standard jazz quartet with strings, it becomes a musical delight—a mixture of modern jazz and classical music. The founder and leader of this group is pianist Mathei Florea. The compositions are greatly inspired by Petros Klampanis and Arvo Pärt.
Mathei Florea (born 1989) is a jazz pianist from Estonia, whose music career started as a small child singing in choirs and participating in opera projects. Soon after, he found his ambition in playing classical piano, which he studied for over 13 years before deciding to change course and pursue jazz. After being a jazz student of Kristjan Randalu at the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre, he went abroad to study at Skurup Folkhögskola in Sweden. He received a bachelor’s degree in jazz from the Jazz Institute Berlin in 2020. In the last few years, Mathei has had the privilege to play and collaborate with many international musicians and artists around the world, such as “Flow Rea” “Foyl Aka,” “Kartini” and “New Wind Jazz Orchestra.”
Mathei Florea New Grounds is a group founded in Berlin in winter 2019. The band consists of Mathei Florea, Alvise Carli, Aleksandra Błachno-Kulig, Philine Höhnisch, Kornelia Jamborowicz,Björn Atle Anfinsen, Cookie Stephenson, and Johannes Metzger. Berlin’s art scene has definitely enraptured and inspired all the musicians. It is the city where they all met and also recorded their music. In April 2020, the band released their first tune, “Notched Trees,” along with a live video. The band proceeded to record their first album at Jazzanova Studio, located in Berlin, during 2022. The album, named “Snap,” was released in April 2024. Two live videos were released from the recording session. In May and June 2024, we did the album release tour in Europe and recorded a live video from our concert at Philly Joe’s Jazz Club.
Accolades:
Radio Swr Kultur – Album of the week. May 2024
Radio Tallinn – Album of the month. July 2024
Estonian Jazz Ensemble of The Year 2025
