BIO
"I'm a music worker, not an artist. The people and time will tell if I'm an artist.
I, at this moment, am a worker. And a worker who is positioned with a very defined conscience."
Victor Jara, 1973
Born in Barcelona and raised in Santa Perpètua de Mogoda, at Christmas 1995 he was given a drum kit that he began to play on the records at home, such as “In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida” by Iron Butterfly and “Dangerous” by Michael Jackson. But it was the discovery of “Live in Japan” by Keith Jarrett, Gary Peacock and Jack DeJohnette, by his teacher and mentor Quicu Samsó, that marked a turning point in his career. This encounter with jazz would forever transform his way of listening and making music.
Academically, he trained in classical percussion at the Sabadell Conservatory and, later, obtained the Superior Degree in Modern Music and Jazz at the Liceu Conservatory in the specialty of drums. He has studied with teachers such as David Xirgu, Marc Miralta, Aldo Caviglia, Jordi Gardeñas, David Gómez and Gonzalo del Val, and has participated in master classes with internationally renowned musicians such as Jack DeJohnette, John Patitucci, Richard Bona, Gonzalo Rubalcaba, Michael League, Bill Laurance and Jordi Rossy. In the field of composition and musical language, he has received training in classical writing with Miquel Pardo and Benjamin Davis, as well as in jazz and modern music with Sergi Vergés, Bill McHenry, Toni Vaquer, David Mengual and Pablo Selnik, among others. He has also completed academic stays abroad: first in Cuba, where he received classes from Ruy López-Nussa and Rodney Barreto, and then in New Orleans, where he studied with Johnny Vidacovich, Herlin Riley and Joe Lastie.
His career has taken him across a wide range of musical settings, from traditional jazz to the avant-garde and free improvisation, as well as rock, pop, country, and ska, musical theatre, and symphonic orchestra. He has also worked on several film projects as musical director, producer, and performer, including "Ateuendos, señas e identidades," "La Santa Espina," "Barcelona Tourist Walk," and "Otros Tiempos."
While based mainly in Catalonia, he has also performed in the Balearic Islands, the Valencian Community, Madrid, Castile and León, Aragon, and Andorra, sharing stages with artists such as Figa Flawas, Mishima, Mazoni, Catarres, The Tyets, Búhos, Joan Garriga (La Troba Kung-Fú), Joan Miquel Oliver (Antònia Font), and two-time Grammy winner Mala Rodríguez. He has also appeared on television — on TV3's "Tot es Mou" and, on Spanish public broadcaster RTVE, on "Hitster," performing alongside artists such as Pastora Soler and Isabel Aaiún. His concert credits include the Palau de la Música Catalana, the Teatro Ramos Carrión in Zamora, and the Casa de las Conchas in Salamanca, along with festivals such as the Festival de Música de Maó, the Festival de Jazz de la Costa Brava, the Festival Internacional de Música de Ripoll, and the Mostra de Jazz de Tortosa.
As a composer, his work is nourished by a restless spirit, a constant drive for creativity and an infinite curiosity open to new experiences. This has led him to immerse himself in various instruments, such as the piano, saxophone, recorder, violin or guitar, in addition to delving into the wide family of percussion instruments, with a special interest in reed instruments such as the vibraphone and marimba. This range has allowed him to explore different repertoires and interpretive possibilities, broadening his musical outlook and enriching his work as a composer.
Alongside his performing career, he also teaches. He previously led his own band, Joni Witzi Trio, and now leads Joni Witzi Ensembles, an umbrella project through which he brings musicians together to shape specific thematic lineups — among them JAZZ BASTARD and FUM! FUM! JAZZ!. He also heads RUC'N'ROLL, a project that has brought together major figures from the Catalan rock scene, including Pemi Fortuny, Jimmy Piñol, Pemi Rovirosa (Lax'n'Busto), Jordi Gas (Sau, Jarabe de Palo), Jordi Mena (Sau, Jarabe de Palo, Bunbury), Francesc "Cuco" Lisicic, Jaume Soler "Peck" (Sopa de Cabra), Francesc Ribera "Titot" (Brams), and David Muñoz "Gnaposs" (Els Pets, Jarabe de Palo), among others.
In 2025 he released his first collection of original compositions, MUSICROMA, an interdisciplinary project fusing music and painting that reflects his passion for sonic experimentation and his ongoing search for balance — between form and freedom, thought and intuition. Melodic sensibility and philosophical outlook intertwine throughout the project, marking a new stage in his work as a composer and distilling years of aesthetic exploration and a deep love of art. With drums as its center of gravity, his music fuses intensity and detail into sound that is visceral and passionate, yet subtle — attentive to nuance and to silence.
