BIOGRAPHY

"Like a doleful beauty close to human voices" – this could describe the sound of Manu Comté’s accordion in lively interpretations of great virtuosity and intense dramatic moments. He excels at the swing and madness of music that sharpens the senses and sets off the heartbeat.

From a very early age, Manu Comté has drawn on the strength of a passion that has taken him far past a street fair accordionist to defy contemporary music, be it classical, jazz or world!

In his quest to find a non-traditional voice for his instruments, accordion or bandoneon, he plays with an intensive expression and a light velvet touch. He is among those who provide the best arguments for the epitome of a popular instrument, the accordion.

His path corresponds to the adventure with his group "Soledad" that he created in the 1990s and took to the world’s greatest concert halls (Santory Hall in Tokyo, the Roque d’ Anthéron festival, Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, the Cannes and Paris festivals, the Montreal Jazz Festival, New Morning in Paris, the Beppu, Lugano, Pietrasanta, Toronto, Ottawa festivals…).

A great path that showered him with prestigious awards and encounters with great artists like Martha Argerich, Richard Galliano, Renaud Capuçon, Franck Braley, Philip Catherine, Tomás Gubitsch, Frédéric Devreese, Gerardo Jerez le Cam, Michel Portal, Alberto Iglesias,…

After releasing a more than a dozen records, Manu Comté recorded a new album this year under his own name, entitled "Homilia" after one of his compositions. He is accompanied by the string quintet B’Strings and guest guitarist, Argentinean Tomás Gubitsch.

In 2016, Soledad, now a trio, was invited as a "resident artist" to the Queen Elisabeth of Belgium Musical Chapel, where it would record a new CD for Warner Music to be released in March 2017.

Following his meeting in 2023 with Pablo Ziegler - the last official pianist of the master Astor Piazzolla - Manu Comté joined the Pablo Ziegler Quartet and began his collaboration with a concert tour in Gstaad in May 2024.