Spanish pianist and composer, David Sancho, has won the Fundación SGAE Award for Best Jazz Album of the Year at the 17th edition of the MIN Independent Music Awards 2025, for his work ‘Mind in Progress’.
According to the organization in a statement quoted by Europa Press, this recognition highlights the innovation and artistic quality of a project that «combines traditional jazz with genres such as rock and hip-hop».
Sancho received the award at a gala hosted by presenter Paula Vázquez, held on Tuesday night at the Teatro Caixabank Príncipe Pío in Madrid. «I’m in shock. I didn’t expect it,» declared the Madrid pianist upon receiving his MIN award, an honor granted by the Independent Phonographic Union (UFI), with the support of Fundación SGAE.
«I think it’s been a very good year for jazz and I would like to dedicate this to all my colleagues who are making very good music, especially Moisés P. Sánchez, because I feel like his disciple,» he added.
This recognition is part of the collaboration between the Fundación SGAE and these awards that recognize musical creations released by independent labels in Spain, establishing themselves as a benchmark in the industry at a national level.
DAVID SANCHO
David Sancho Mangas (Madrid, 1987) is a pianist, composer, and educator, trained in classical and jazz piano at the higher conservatories of Madrid and Rotterdam, where he received the Nuffic Scholarship. He has collaborated on notable projects in classical, jazz, flamenco, and audiovisual realms, such as ‘Unbalanced’ (Latin Grammy 2019), ‘Tremenda’ by Rosario La Tremendita (MIN Award 2022), and the soundtrack of the series ‘Malaka’ (RTVE).
He is a member of ‘Eme.Eme.Project’, awarded the Clinton Prize for Best Band in 2023, and has released several solo albums, including ‘Piano Solo’, ‘From Home’, ‘Meditaciones’, and ‘Mind in Progress’, presented at festivals like JazzMadrid or San Sebastián. He has also undertaken special commissions such as the tribute to Radiohead’s ‘Ok Computer’ for the Arte Sacro Festival.
‘MIND IN PRORESS’
In ‘Mind in Progress’, David Sancho, «inspired by names like Mathias Eick and Pat Metheny, the album delves into deep topics such as mental health, death, and loss, guiding listeners on a nostalgic journey that reflects Sancho’s musical evolution.»
As indicated by Fundación SGAE, this year the MIN Awards have introduced a new voting system designed to «ensure a more diverse, specialized, and representative evaluation of the richness of independent music in Spain. The jury responsible for evaluating and voting in most categories is composed of music and culture journalists, promoters, venue managers, record store owners, music supervisors, musicologists, producers, and audio technicians.