About

Pablo Frías Cantón was born in Melilla (Spain) in 2000. He spends part of his childhood in England, where he begins to get close to music. At the age of five, the saxophone, an instrument that soon becomes the center of his artistic training. He moves, with his family, to live in Mallorca, where he begins his musical studies at a very young age, combining saxophone with music theory, piano, and drums.

He continues his music studies at the local school and, during the summers, returns to Oxford, where he takes saxophone lessons with Trish Elphinstone. There, he delves into jazz, listens to his great influences, discovers Charlie Parker, John Coltrane, Louis Armstrong, and decides to direct his formation toward that musical language. At the age of 15, he decides to pursue jazz professionally and expands his training with saxophonist Miquel Àngel Rigo.

At 17 years old, he participates in a concert with the Glissando Big Band, the only established jazz big band in Mallorca; since then, he has been a part of it. After finishing high school and taking the university entrance exam, he moves to Barcelona and enrolles in the Taller de Músics, where he studied Jazz Interpretation and Modern Music. There, he learns from teachers like Santi de la Rubia and Lluc Casares, Joan Monne, and Perico Sambeat. Meanwhile, he immerses himself in the jazz scene, attending concerts, participating in jams, and shaping his artistic trajectory.

In his second year, he creates the Pablo Frías Quartet, a project that has since maintained an intense activity in Catalonia, the Balearic Islands, and various jazz clubs. During his third year, he studied with an Erasmus scholarship at the REAL CONSERVATORY OF THE HAGUE, where he expandes his knowledge with musicians such as Benjamin Herman and Rolf Delfos, Erik Ineke, among others. During this time, he also takes classes from saxophone players like Simon Rigter and Vincent Herring, traveled to New York, visited iconic clubs, and participates in several jam sessions. After completing his degree, he persuades the Barcelona Jazz Master at ESMUC.

Over the years, he has played alto and soprano saxophone in groups like the Glissando Big Band, The Voodoo Children Big Band (under the direction of Toni Vaquer), and GPS Big Band (Sergi Vergés). He has also participated in festivals such as Palma de Mallorca, Sa Pobla, and Vijazz (Vilafranca del Penedès), as well as in projects in the Netherlands with The Hard Bop Society and the Big Band of the Royal Conservatoire of The Hague. His performances include iconic venues such as Palau Güell, the Royal Academy of Catalan Fine Arts of Sant Jordi, and Ses Voltes (Palma). With all this, he is consolidating his identity as a performer and beginning to project his own voice within the jazz scene.

In the 2025-2026 academic year, he returns to the Netherlands to undertake a pre-master’s program at the ROYAL CONSERVATORY OF THE HAGUE, aiming to prepare himself with professors like Simon Rigter, Tineke Posma, Ben Van Gelder, and Erena Terakubo for his entry into the Master’s in Jazz and Modern Music, which he is currently pursuing.

He continues working with his quartet, perfecting his musical language and preparing for the release of his first album.