Maria Faust is an Estonian alto saxophonist and composer currently living in Copenhagen, Denmark.
She is renowned worldwide for her award-winning ensembles Sacrum Facere, Machina, and Jazz Catastrophe. Although her unique musical language as a composer and singular improvising style are easily identified, she is difficult to place in the canon of contemporary jazz and composition. This is partly due to the broad spectrum of her influences and because her music goes beyond stylistic definitions into the realm of the deeply personal.
She works mostly with large ensembles like big bands, chamber orchestras and choirs, but perhaps her biggest breakthrough worldwide has happened with her solo performances. Her solo album MOnuMENT was chosen as best solo album of 2023 by New York City Jazz Magazine.
Faust is one of the most celebrated Estonian musicians of her generation, recipient of numerous awards from Estonia and Denmark, and a celebrated artist across Europe and North America. The Annual German Critics Prize recently awarded her latest album Marches rewound and rewritten (2025), which deals with socially critical issues and the monochromatic nature of authoritarian thinking.