Celebrate México Now: Patricia Brennan Trio

Mexican vibraphonist, marimbist, improviser, and composer Patricia Brennan “has been widely feted as one of the instrument’s newer leaders.” observed The New York City Jazz Record. Brennan won the Rising Star Vibraphonist award from Downbeat magazine’s 70th (2022) and 72nd (2024) Critics Poll and was listed #4 Vibraphonist of the Year on the 71st (2023) & 72nd (2024) Critics Poll. Brennan was also recently named winner of the 2025 Vibraphonist of the Year award on the 73rd Annual Downbeat Critics Poll. 

Brennan inherited a deep love and appreciation for musical tradition from both parents, as well as being exposed to the musical richness of her native Port of Veracruz in Mexico. She started studying music at four years old, playing Latin percussion along to salsa records with her father and listening to Jimi Hendrix and Led Zeppelin records with her mother. Also, around the same age, she started playing piano, influenced by her grandmother who was a concert pianist. At the age of 17, Brennan was selected from musicians all over the Americas to be part of the Youth Orchestra of the Americas. During this time, she toured every country in the Americas and performed with renowned musicians such as Yo-Yo Ma and Paquito D’Rivera. Before moving to the United States, Brennan was already performing with the top symphony orchestras in Mexico, such as Xalapa Symphony Orchestra and Minería Symphony Orchestra. Also, she had already won several awards on marimba competitions and young artist competitions in Mexico and abroad and was featured in the Líderes Mexicanos magazine in 2003. In 2004, she was accepted at the prestigious Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, where she was able to perform alongside high-caliber musicians from all over the world and conductors such as Simon Rattle and Charles Dutoit. She also performed with the prestigious Philadelphia Orchestra and other acclaimed new music groups such as members from Eight Blackbird. 

Brennan's search for freedom in her musical expression led her to find her voice through the vibraphone and mallet percussion in improvisational music and composition. Brennan’s extensive sidewoman work includes the Grammy nominated John Hollenbeck Large Ensemble, Michael Formanek Ensemble Kolossus, Matt Mitchell’s Phalanx Ambassadors, Grammy winning Arturo O’Farrill’s Afro Latin Jazz Big Band, Dan Weiss Quartet, Sylvie Courvoisier Quartet and Allison Miller Boom Tic Boom, amongst other groups and collectives. She has also collaborated with pianist Vijay Iyer as a member of Blind Spot with writer Teju Cole, Iyer’s large ensemble project Open City and several small ensemble performances along with renowned musicians including bassist Reggie Workman and trumpeter Wadada Leo Smith. 

Brennan’s own projects include the solo project MAQUISHTI; MOCH, a collaborative duo with percussionist, drummer, and turntablist Noel Brennan (Arktureye); MORE TOUCH, a quartet with Mauricio Herrera on percussion, Marcus Gilmore on drums, and Kim Cass on bass; the PATRICIA BRENNAN SEPTET, which features the rhythm section from More Touch and adding Adam O’Farrill on trumpet, Jon Irabagon on alto and sopranino saxophones, and Mark Shim on tenor saxophone; TALAMANTI, a piano and mallet percussion duo with pianist Sylvie Courvoisier; and OF THE NEAR AND FAR, a tentet comprising a string quartet (Modney, Pala Garcia, Kyle Armbrust, Michael Nicolas), a jazz quintet (Miles Okazaki, Sylvie Courvoisier, Kim Cass, John Hollenbeck), and an electronic musician, Arktureye, which is conducted by Eli Greenhoe. Brennan has performed in venues such as Newport Jazz Festival, SF JAZZ, and Carnegie Hall, as well as international venues such as Wiener Konzerthaus in Vienna, Austria, Palacio de Bellas Artes in Mexico City, and Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires, Argentina. She has also appeared on National Television, Public Radio, and the BBC radio show “Freeness” hosted by Corey Mwamba. 

Brennan has appeared on numerous recordings from classical to improvised music, including an ECM recording with Michael Formanek Ensemble Kolossus called “The Distance” and a world premiere recording with the Curtis Symphony Orchestra and Christoph Eschenbach on Ondine Records. Brennan’s acclaimed debut solo album Maquishti, released on Valley of Search, was listed #4 on The New York Times 10 Best Jazz Albums of 2021. Patricia’s sophomore album, More Touch, released in November 2022 on Pyroclastic Records received multiple accolades from critics. More Touch was included in several Best Jazz Albums of 2022 lists such as NPR Best Music of 2022, Bandcamp Best Jazz Albums of 2022 and PopMatters Best Jazz Albums of 2022. The opener track, “Unquiet Respect”, was listed under NPR’s 100 Best Songs of 2022, a list featuring music from all genres and only including a handful of jazz artists. 

Brennan released her third album as a bandleader on September 6, 2024: Breaking Stretch featuring the Patricia Brennan Septet on Pyroclastic Records. This septet record features master improvisers Adam O’Farrill on trumpet, Jon Irabagon on alto and soprano saxophones, Mark Shim on tenor saxophone, Kim Cass on bass, Marcus Gilmore on drums, and Mauricio Herrera on percussion. Breaking Stretch received wide acclaim, earning spots on multiple Best Jazz Albums of 2024 including The New York Times 10 Best Jazz Albums of 2024 and NPR 50 Best Albums of 2024 (across all genres of music). Also, the track “Five Suns” was listed on NPR’s 124 Best Songs of 2024. Breaking Stretch was the 2025 winner of the Album Of the Year award on the 73rd Annual Downbeat Critics Poll and won first place on the 19th Annual Francis Davis Jazz Poll. 

Brennan released her fourth record featuring her latest project Of The Near and Far on October 24, 2025 on Pyroclastic Records. Amongst the many accolades for Of The Near and Far has received, this recent recording won 2nd place on the 20th Annual Francis Davis Jazz Poll. Brennan then released the recording of her duo project TALAMANTI with pianist Sylvie Courvoisier on June 24, 2026 on her own label, Antlia Records. Brennan is a Valley of Search artist, Pyroclastic Records artist, BlueHaus Mallets artist, and Audeze artist. 

Brennan is currently faculty at the Jazz Arts program at Manhattan School of Music, the New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music, and the Jazz Studies program at NYU Steinhardt.