Founded in 1997, the Matoshinhos Jazz Orchestra is an institution with the mission of promoting the creation, research and education in the field of jazz. A pioneer in an artistic territory which at the time of its foundation remained largely unexplored, the JOM has presented throughout its twenty-five years of existence repertoires and programs of several different aesthetical variations and from different times of jazz. In the context of its activity, the jazz orchestra collaborated with great musicians of the contemporary international jazz scene, such as Carla Bley, Lee Konitz, Chris Cheek and Peter Evans, and worked with influential names of Portuguese music, such as Maria João, Mário Laginha or Sérgio Godinho. The JOM performs regularly both in Portugal and Western Europe and was the first Portuguese jazz orchestra to participate in a North-American festival. In more recent years, the institution has continued to pursue its creative and educational work, from which we may highlight, due to its particular pedagogical relevance, the itinerant project dedicated to the interpretation of the jazz repertory for big bands, an initiative with curatorship and narration by the great late jazz critic, Manuel Jorge Veloso.

Born in 1973, Ethan Iverson is a pianist, composer and music critic from Wisconsin, USA, whose high notoriety is largely explained by the critical acclamation of his avant-garde jazz band, The Bad Plus. Besides his collaborations with jazz greats such as Billy Hart, Joshua Redman or Ron Carter, Iverson has also relevant work as a leader, having released several albums on prestigious labels such as ECM or Blue Note (namely his most recent work, featuring legendary drummer Jack DeJohnette), while at the same time participating in projects beyond the borders of jazz as, for example, his compositional work for dance choreographer Mark Morris or his reinterpretation of Stravinsky and Beatles music. As a critic, his texts have been published by North-American magazines of reference, such as The New Yorker or The Nation, among others.

David Virelles is a Cuban pianist currently based in the USA and, despite his relative youth, a musician with an already significant reputation in the jazz circuit. A descendent of a family of musical tradition, Virelles moved from Cuba to Canada at the invitation of Jane Bunett, with whom the pianist collaborated extensively before moving to New York. At this epicentral jazz city, Virelles studied under the tutorship of Henry Threadgill and began his remarkable path in music, both with his own projects, such as the quartet alongside drummer Andrew Cyrille, bassist Ben Street and percussionist Román Diáz, or as a sideman of great names of contemporary jazz, among them we may highlight those of Chris Potter, the already mentioned Henry Threadgill or the recently and tragically deceased Polish trumpeter, Tomasz Stanko.