Matthias Spillmann has performed in among others the International Jazz Festivals of Lugano, Willisau, Bern, Montreux, Frauenfeld, Cully, Lausanne, Grahamstown, Antananarivo, Schwäbisch Hall, Kassel as well as the 24th and 25th Annual IAJE Conferences in New York and Chicago.
He was soloist with the Big Band of the EBU in Hungary 2002.
He worked with musicians like Franco Ambrosetti, Malcolm Braff, Randy Brecker, Gary Burton, Bill Holman, Sophie Hunger, Joe Lovano, Jojo Mayer, Kurt Rosenwinkel, Bob Mintzer, Clark Terry, Jimmy Woody and many others.
Since 1999, he leads the septet MATS-UP, a group that performs mainly his original compositions. It combines jazz rhythms and improvisation with larger musical forms and extended compositions in a unique way. MATS-UP has performed in countless clubs and festivals in europe and africa.
MATS-UP has released three albums. The new album includes the famous “Pictures at an Exhibition†by Modest Musorgsky, put into a Jazz frame. The album was widely acclaimed by critics all over Europe and was nominated for “Preis der Deutschen Schallplattenkritikâ€.
