Rai Paz is a guitarist and composer whose musical language is deeply rooted in the jazz tradition and who has a particular interest in the American Songbook. Throughout his career, he has been highly active both as a bandleader and a sideman, with a notable commitment to working with singers – a field in which he excels thanks to his sensitivity, versatility and knowledge of the repertoire.
A graduate in Jazz Guitar from the Liceu Higher Conservatory of Music, he has furthered his training with musicians such as Peter Bernstein, Michael Kanan and Gilad Hekselmann in New York, as well as through numerous masterclasses and seminars. Since 2016, he has been a regular contributor to the Begues Jazz Camp as an accompanist in the vocal category, working alongside singers such as Judy Niemack, Deborah Carter, Carme Canela, Song Yi Jeon and Sarah Dowling.
As a bandleader, he has released the albums Rai Paz Quartet Plays Gypsy (by Jule Styne & Stephen Sondheim), Dedicatòria and Return | The Music of Sean Levitt. Together with the singer Elisenda Julià, he released Love Will Be the Theme Song, which was voted best jazz album of 2023 at the Premis Enderrock-440 by public vote. In the field of the lied, he has composed Sis poemes de Cesc Pla i Santamans, a song cycle for voice and piano
released in 2025 and performed by the soprano Mercedes Gancedo and the pianist Leyre Sáenz de Urturi.
He has worked with singers such as Carme Canela, Celeste Alías, Rita Payés, Eva Fernández, Diana Palau, Helena Camps and Isa Mirallas, amongst others, and with musicians such as Víctor Correa, Irene Reig, Joan Mar Sauqué, Alba Pujals, Pol Omedes, Toni Saigi and Pau Sala, amongst many others.
He has performed at venues and festivals such as the Marians Jazzroom in Bern, the Jamboree, the Jazz Cava in Terrassa, the Voll-Damm Jazz Festival in Barcelona, the Jazzing Festival in Sant Andreu and the Caldes d’Engordany Jazz Festival, amongst others.
Alongside his artistic career, he has built up an extensive teaching career, focusing in recent years particularly on higher education at the Manuel Castillo Higher Conservatory of Music in Seville.