Mazz Swift
Mazz Swift, a native New Yorker, began playing the violin at age 6, studying with Elisabeth Small, Shirley Givens and Timothy Baker. She graduated from the High School of the Performing Arts, during which time she made her solo public performance debut on the stage of New York’s Alice Tully Hall, performing alongside members of the New York Philharmonic Orchestra. She later attended The Juilliard School of Music, studying under Stephen Clapp, but left in the middle of her 3rd year in order to pursue a more organic approach to music making.
Mazz’s diverse musical interests have led her in many directions; from classical to rock to traditional folk music from around the world (specializing in Irish music) to hip hop and most recently jazz (free and composed). Consequently, she has recorded and performed with a wide variety of artists including Whitney Houston, Perry Farrell, Dee Snider, James “Blood” Ulmer, Vernon Reid and DJ Logic (The Yohimbe Brothers), William Parker, Butch Morris, many artists from the Black Rock Coalition, Kanye West, Common and Jay-Z.
Mazz’s current projects include solo performances under the name of MazzMuse and writing music for and playing in the string trio Hear in Now. She also spends much of her time in Budapest, making music with some of Hungary’s finest musicians in two projects: Budapest Bar and Fire + Fire (Gypsy Meets Black). She sits on the artistic board of Con Vivo (the Jersey City-based Chamber Music Society) and is also a proud performing member for that same organization. For more information on her whereabouts and goings on, please follow Mazz at www.MazzMuzik.com