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 to work in a wide variety of musical contexts, from traditional jazz to avant-garde, including genres such as rock, pop, country and ska, as well as in musical theatre and symphony orchestra. He has also participated in several film projects, as musical director, producer and performer in works such as “Ateuendos, señas e identidades”, “La Santa Espina”, “Barcelona Tourist Walk” and “Otros Tiempos”.
Although his activity is mainly concentrated in Catalonia, he has also performed in the Balearic Islands, the Valencian Country, Madrid, Castile and León, Aragon and Andorra. He has shared the stage with artists such as Figa Flawas, Mishima, Mazoni, Catarres, The Tyets, Búhos, Joan Garriga (La Troba Kung-Fú) and Joan Miquel Oliver (Antònia Font), and with the winner of two Grammy awards, Mala Rodríguez. He has also been present in the media, such as in the TV3 program “Tot es Mou”, and has performed in emblematic spaces such as the Palau de la Música Catalana and the Teatro Ramos Carrión in Zamora, as well as in festivals including the Maó Music Festival, the Costa Brava Jazz Festival, the Ripoll International Music Festival and the Tortosa Jazz Festival.
As a composer, his work is nourished by a restless soul, 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 diversity has allowed him to explore different repertoires and interpretative possibilities, broadening his vision of music and enriching his compositional practice.
In addition to his career as a performer, he also teaches. He currently leads his own band, Joni Witzi Trio, and is at the forefront of Ruc'n'Roll, a project that has had the collaboration of prominent figures in Catalan rock such as Pemi Fortuny, Jimmy Piñol, Pemi Rovirosa (Lax'n'Busto), Jordi Gas (Sau, Jarabe de Palo), Francesc “Cuco” Lisicic, Jaume Soler “Peck” (Sopa de Cabra), Francesc Ribera “Titot” (Brams) and David Muñoz “Gnaposs” (Els Pets, Jarabe de Palo), among others.
He recently presented his latest work, MUSICROMA, an interdisciplinary work that fuses music and fine arts, reflecting his passion for sound experimentation and the constant search for balance between form and freedom, thought and intuition. In this project, melodic sensitivity and philosophical perspective intertwine, marking a new stage as a composer, condensing years of aesthetic exploration and a deep love for art. His music, with the drums as its center of gravity, fuses intensity and detail, creating a visceral and passionate sound, but also subtle, attentive to nuance and silence.
