Vilnius Jazz 2026: Matchume Zango (MZ), São Paulo Underground (USA-BR)

Matchume Zango (Mozambique)
Matchume Zango – percussion, timbila

Matchume Zango, a Mozambican percussionist, composer, music producer, instrument maker and cultural scholar, has gained international recognition as a unique virtuoso of the African xylophone – the timbila – and a resourceful custodian of his country’s artistic traditions.

The artist’s family roots lie in the Zavala region of Mozambique’s Inhambane Province, which is regarded as the cradle of timbila music, a tradition inscribed on UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. This shaped Zango’s life path – from childhood, he has been passionately interested in his country’s traditional music and dance; he plays mbira, xitende and djembe, and later began crafting African instruments, becoming an innovator in the field of timbila.

Zango combines his knowledge of African percussion and musical traditions with a fusion style, improvisation, musical experimentation and electronic elements. He plays a vital role in preserving, promoting and revitalising the musical traditions of the Chope people of Mozambique for future generations, building bridges between Mozambican heritage and jazz, improvisational, experimental and electronic music whilst creating his own distinctive artistic language.

At the Vilnius Jazz, the artist will present an audiovisual programme introducing the songs, dances and rituals of the Macua and Chope peoples of Mozambique, as well as the Nyau Brotherhood, and will employ a unique artistic language to tell the story of the heritage and present-day life of these traditional communities.

São Paulo Underground (USA-Brazil)

Rob Mazurek – cornet, electronics, modular synths, voice
Guilherme Granado – keyboards, synthesizers, samplers, voice
Mauricio Takara – drums, percussion, cavaquinho, electronics

Celebrating 20 years of fearless musical exploration, São Paulo Underground continues to redefine the possibilities of electro-acoustic composition, spontaneous composition, and sonic invention. Formed in São Paulo in 2005 by Rob Mazurek and Mauricio Takara, the ensemble made its debut later that year in Palma de Mallorca, Spain, and released its first recording on São Paulo’s Submarine Records, marking the beginning of one of the most distinctive creative partnerships in contemporary music. With the addition of Guilherme Granado, the group evolved into a singular trio whose music brings together Brazilian rhythmic traditions, electronic experimentation, improvisation, and immersive sound worlds into a constantly unfolding collective language.