The biggest appreciation so far of Marialy Pacheco’s qualities has been the winning of the Montreux Solo Piano Competition 2012. She is the first woman to win this prize in 15 years history of the competition. In the explanation of the decision Jury president Leszek Mozdzer said: “Deciding between the three contenders was tough. In the end, the contestants’ joy in performing and her authenticity guided our decision making.”
Born in Havana 1983, Marialy Pacheco was raised in a musical family and began piano studies from an early age at the Conservatorio Alejandro García Caturla. At 15 she attended the Escuela Nacional de Artes, followed by three years of composition studies under Tulio Peramo at the Instituto Superior de Artes in Havana.
In 2002 she won the Cuban competition Jo-Jazz, with Grammy award-winner Chucho Valdes presiding over the jury. Two years later she recorded her first album “Bendiciones”. The pianist moved to Germany, toured through Europe – both solo and with her trio – and built international reputation.
On the occasion of the 185-year-old jubilee of Bösendorfer, Marialy Pacheco guested in 2013 as the only Jazz-Act, beside classical stars like Valentina Lisitsa and Maria Mazo in the Musikverein Wien. In 2014, Marialy was announced as first female jazz pianist worldwide to be an official „Bösendorfer Artist“.
In spring 2014, her new album "Introducing" (Neuklang/Edel:Kultur) was released. After several solo albums, it is a trio album, with Juan Camilo Villa Robles on bass and Miguel Altamar de la Torre (both from colombia) on drums. As "special guests" she got the honor to get german trumpet player and Echo Jazz Winner Joo Kraus and moroccan Rhani Krija, Percussionist of STING.
In August 2014, she gave her debut as classical pianist and showed her musical variety, when she performed Bach’s g-moll concerto with the Queensland Symphony Orchestra in Brisbane/Australia, conducted by Gustavo Gimeno
Marialy Pacheco has performed at national and international festivals like Montreux Jazz Festival, Aalener Jazzfest, Enter Music Festival (Poland), St. Moritz Art Masters (Switzerland),Rheingau-Musik-Festival, ZMF Freiburg, Jazzfestival Oloron (France) Audi Jazzfestival, Ingolstädter Jazztage, Piano City Milano, Havana Jazzfestival, Beethovenfestival Bonn and the International Trio Festival in Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club.
In January 2016, Marialy Pacheco released her limited 180g vinyl “ Live Studio Album”, recorded in audiophile fully analogue Direct-To-2-Track Version.
In June 2016, she presented the project “Danzon Cubano” together with WDR Funkhaus Orchestra on Live-Stream at ARTE TV concerts and at the Beethovenfest in Bonn. The project was presented again in september 2017 at the Philharmonie Köln and at the Viersen International Jazz Festival.
In April 2017 Marialy released her new album "DUETS" – an intimate and many-faceted album to which Marialy invited her favourite musicians and friends like Hamilton de Holanda, Omar Sosa, Joo Kraus, Rhani Krija, Miguel Zenon and Max Mutzke.
In January 2018, Marialy was invited by the German Ambassador to perform 2 concerts in Cuba and afterwards, she played at the International Jazzfestival in Port-au-Prince in Haiti.
In February 2018 she presented her first Italy-Tour together with trumpet player Joo Kraus with concerts in Milan, Naples, Catania and Palermo, followed by summer concerts in Bari, Fiesole and Sardinia.
During summer and fall 2018, Marialy played in various line ups presentig "DUETS" with Omar Sosa at the „Woman in Jazz“ Festival, with Rhani Krija at Teatro La Fenice in Venice, and with Joo Kraus at the Luxembourg Philharmonic.
In December 2018, Marialy signed with Ellora Managament in the US for worldwide management and representation among artists like HIROMI and Ahmad Jamal.
In March 2019 she performed together with the Nuremberg Symphony Orchestra and the Philharmonie Konstanz.
In May 2019 the new album "Danzon Cubano - Live in Viersen" was released. A live recording of the concert with the Marialy Pacheco Trio and the WDR Funkhausorchester and conductor Gordon Hamilton at the International Jazz Festival in Viersen.
In the summer of 2019, Marialy performed at well-known festivals in Europe such as the 9Hills Festival in Poland, the Rheingau-Musik-Festival, the Stuttgarter Jazztagen and the festival at Schloss Ettersburg. In August and September of the same year, she debuted for the first time in the US with concerts in Seattle, Boston, Philadelphia, the legendary jazz club Birdland in New York and the renowned Detroit Jazz Festival.
Marialy Pacheco is the only female pianist among current Cuban star pianists such as Chucho Valdes, Roberto Fonseca, Omar Sosa or Gonzalo Rubalcaba.
