About the label

We support artists through every step of their creative journey.

Melusina Records is an independent label founded by Luxembourgish musicians passionate about jazz and modern improvised music. After years of working with international labels, the founders decided to create their own structure to provide a space for free, ambitious, and fully artist-driven creation.

The ASBL

Melusina Records is run as a non-profit association (ASBL) under Luxembourg law, not a commercial label — every member has a vote, and any surplus goes back into the next record.

Our mission

We support artists through every step of their creative journey:

production of original works
promotion of innovative artistic projects
distribution of jazz and improvised music locally and internationally

Melusina Records is committed to strengthening the professionalism and visibility of the Luxembourg jazz scene.

Our commitments

Highlight Luxembourg's jazz heritage and its international connections
Support and develop ambitious and contemporary artistic projects
Organize concerts, workshops, residencies, and participatory jazz events

A platform for creation

More than a label, Melusina Records is a community of artists, a creative hub, and a bridge between Luxembourg and the global jazz scene.

Registration details, the board's legal mandate, and how we handle data are all on the legal notice page.

The board

Maxime Bender

President

Maxime Bender enjoys quite a career as a musician & composer and has released several albums on some of the most renowned Jazz Record Companies. After being a music teacher, he is today the Director of the Centre Culturel et de Congrès TRIFOLION and President of the Réseau Luxembourgeois des Centres Culturels Régionaux. As a musician, Maxime is well known in the jazz scene of Europe and over the world, having played at several big festivals in France, Japan, South Korea, Canada, Belgium, Scotland, Slovakia, Lithuania, Germany, Greece as well as many clubs and other venues across Europe. Maxime has also had the chance to share the stage with great musicians throughout his career such as DeeDee Bridgewater, Nigel Kennedy, Donny McCaslin, Lalo Shifrin, George Duke, Joachim Kühn, Till Brönner, BAP, Wolfgang Niedecken, to name only a few.

Maxime Bender Trio

The Maxime Bender Trio embodies a unique soundscape within the modern jazz scene. Each of the three musicians brings their own distinctive musical profile, resulting in a dense, creative and yet very accessible sound atmosphere.

Maxime Bender is known for his expressive saxophone style, which combines lyrical sensitivity with energetic impulses. His playing is multifaceted and open to spontaneous improvisation, allowing him to continually discover new timbres.

Stéphane Kerecki on bass forms the rhythmic and harmonic foundation of the trio. With his profound playing style, he not only sets the groove, but also complements his colleagues' improvisations with melodious and sometimes surprisingly experimental lines.

Manu Codjia on guitar enriches the trio with his sensitive and versatile guitar playing, which combines both jazz-typical harmonies and modern sounds. His ability to play both virtuosically and sensitively makes him an ideal partner for the dialogical interaction within the trio.

Together, the trio creates a musical atmosphere characterised by intimacy, creativity and strong group dynamics. Their playing is marked by a keen sense of interplay and balance, with each musician being given equal space for individual development.

The release of their first album is scheduled for September 2026.

Line-up

Maxime Bender - SAXOPHONE

Manu Codjia - GUITAR

Stéphane Kerecki – BASS

Pol Belardi

Vice President

Jerome Klein and Pol Belardi's duo project is a testament to their enduring friendship and musical partnership, spanning over two decades of shared experiences on stage. Currently working on their first release, their collaboration promises a fresh take on modern composition, blending Jerome's delicate piano with Pol's evocative vibraphone in an acoustic and beautifully fragile setting. Between cinematographic landscapes and epic interplay, their broad experience as composers delivers the musical framework, whereas their talent as improvisers with colorful musical backgrounds stands for guaranteed spontaneity and a vital live experience.

Pol Belardi – vibraphone

Jérôme Klein – piano

Jeff Herr

Treasurer

Born in 1980 in Luxembourg, Jeff Herr studied music at the conservatories of Luxembourg and Maastricht. He currently works as a professional musician and drum teacher at the music school of Pétange.

Although he is mainly known for his various jazz projects (notably the Jeff Herr Corporation, Tele-Port, and the Sigurdur Flosason (De) Lux 4tet), Jeff Herr is above all a versatile artist inspired by a wide range of musical styles. His projects as a leader or sideman also include pop (The Gazmen), electronic music (Drops & Points by Pascal Schumacher), and rock (Lata Gouveia).

Jeff Herr has built a strong reputation on the European scene through performances in major clubs and festivals, as well as through numerous collaborations with internationally renowned musicians. In recent years, he has worked with artists such as guitarist Adam Rogers (on the album Manifesto by the Jeff Herr Corporation), Russian saxophonist Zhenya Strigalev (with Tele-Port), Icelandic saxophonist Sigurdur Flosason, and Iranian singer Shahab Tiam.

In 2015, he was named “Export Artist of the Year” in the jazz category.

📎 Site web : www.jeff-herr.com

Musical education

Conservatory of Luxembourg: Solfège, classical percussion, drums, Latin percussion, harmony, and piano with Guy Frisch, Al Ginter, and Rainer Kind; First Prize in Solfège;

First Prize and Advanced Prize in Drums.

Conservatory of Maastricht: Jazz and drum studies (Bachelor’s degree + postgraduate cycle) with Ron Van Stratum, Arnoud Gerritse, Jamal Thomas, and Oliver Strauch.

Workshops: Nippy Noya, Changuito, Phil Maturano.

Performed with (selection)

Rouzbeh Asgarian, Reza Askari, Joachim Badenhorst, Pol Belardi, Maxime Bender, Shlomit Butbul, Remo Cavallini, Manu Codjia, Marc Demuth, Maxime Delpierre, Christophe Devisscher, Sigurdur Flosason, Funky P, Ro Gebhardt, Lata Gouveia, Ernie Hammes, Cedric Hanriot, Stefanie Heinzmann, Jérôme Klein, Jean-Yves Jung, Greg Lamy, Gautier Laurent, Magik Malik, Pandit Deobrat Mishra, Pascal Mohy, Johannes Müller, Carlo Nardozza, Jef Neve, Laurent Payfert, Tineke Postma, Michel Reis, Adam Rogers, Sattar, Pascal Schumacher, Shahab Tiam, Zhenya Strigalev, Franz Von Chossy, Vitaliy Zolotov.

Venues & Festivals – Europe

Luxembourg: AGP Drum Festival, Blues’n Jazz Rallye, CCR Neimënster, EchterLive Jazz Festival, Like a Jazz Machine Festival (Dudelange), Philharmonie Luxembourg, Rock um Knuedler, RTL Superstars Christmas Charity Party, India Meets Europe (with Pandit Deobrat Mishra).

France: Baiser Salé (Paris), D’Jazz Nevers Festival, Jammin’Juan, Jazz à Millau, Jazz en Occitanie (Montpellier), Sunset Club (Paris), Têtes de Jazz Festival (Avignon).

Belgium: Bravo Jazz Club (Brussels), Gaume Jazz Festival (Rossignol), Jazzstation (Brussels).

Germany: Barclaycard Arena (Hamburg), B-flat (Berlin), Hildener Jazztage (Hilden), Jazzschmiede (Düsseldorf), Unterfahrt (Munich), The Dome (Mannheim, with Stefanie Heinzmann), Altstadtfest (Trier).

Netherlands: Jazz Maastricht, North Sea Jazz Festival (The Hague).

Ireland: Guinness Jazz Festival (Cork).

United Kingdom: Aberdeen Jazz Festival, Jazz Café (Newcastle), London Jazz Festival, The Jazz Bar (Edinburgh), Vortex Jazz Club (London).

Portugal: Avante Festival (Lisbon).

Greece: Megaron (Athens), Preveza Jazz Festival, Technopolis Jazz Festival (Athens).

Eastern Europe:

• Hungary: BMC (Budapest).

• Romania: Sibiu Jazz Festival, Brașov, Ploiești.

• Slovakia: Jazz Bus Košice.

• Ukraine: Odessa Jazz Festival, Vinnytsia Jazz Festival.

• Russia: Moscow City Jazz Festival.

• Baltic States: tour in Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania.

Iceland: Reykjavik Jazz Festival.

Venues and Festivals – Asia

• Japan: JZ Brat (Tokyo), Tokyo Jazz Festival.

• China: DDC Club (Beijing), JZ Club (Shanghai & Hangzhou)

• South Korea: Jarasum International Jazz Festival.

• Vietnam: Hanoi Jazz Festival, Ho Chi Minh City Jazz Festival.

• India: tour with Shisha Café (Pune), Jazz Fest Kolkata, Goa International Jazz Live Festival (Colva).

Venues and Festivals – Africa

• Cape Verde: Kriol Jazz Festival.

• Egypt: Cairo Jazz Festival.

Venues and Festivals – Americas & Oceania

• United States: The Jazz Showcase (Chicago).

• Australia: tours in Brisbane, Melbourne, and Sydney.

Opening Acts (in Luxembourg)

Blues Brothers, Candy Dulfer, Cypress Hill, Dick Brave, Joe Cocker, Juli, Lionel Richie, Pink, Samy Deluxe, Selah Sue, Silbermond, Ten Years After, ZZ Top.

Gilles Grethen

Secretary

Born in 1994, guitarist and composer Gilles Grethen is part of the new generation of Luxembourgish jazz musicians. Before discovering his passion for guitar and jazz, he was classically trained on the violin and clarinet. His deep appreciation for classical symphonic music, with its vast richness of colors, inspires his ability to make his guitar playing both orchestral and multidimensional.

Alongside his Gilles Grethen Quartet, with whom he has released three albums, he also performs with the Nu jazz band Linq and the duo CHROMA, featuring pianist Sebastian Voltz. His artistic focus, however, is on composing and arranging for various projects.

Recently, he created a big band repertoire for the Gilles Grethen Big Band and composed works for jazz quartet and string orchestra on his album State of Mind. Other projects include compositions and arrangements for film, such as the score for Catherine Dauphin’s short film Coffee & Water, as well as works for the Luxembourg National Jazz Orchestra and the Opus78 Orchestra, both commissioned by the Ministry of Culture.

Grethen holds a bachelor’s degree in jazz guitar from the Hochschule für Musik Saar and master’s degrees in both jazz guitar and jazz composition and arrangement from the Hochschule für Musik und Darstellende Kunst Mannheim.