Jean-Marie Machado spent his childhood in Marocco. Later on he starts to learn piano with concert performer Catherine Collard. He discovered and learnt by himself jazz music and pop.
1986 marks his first appearance in the jazz scene with the Trio Machado formed by Louis and François Moutin. In 1991 he creates the first version of the Vibracordes orchestra and records an album with percussionist Nana Vasconcelos and strings from Radio France New Philharmonic Orchestra. The septuor Vibracordes gathered between 1993 and 1998 the best of the French jazz scene, including : Laurent Dehors, David Chevallier, François Thuillier, Ramon Lopez, Yves Rousseau, Franck Tortiller. In 1996, the show Septuor Vibracordes et Les musiques de Bretagne is created.
Jean-Marie Machado doesn’t forget small bands: he performs solo in numerous festivals, plays and records a duo with Jean-Paul Padovani and a quartet with Paul Motian et Jean-François Jenny-Clark. He also plays a duo with drummer Ramon Lopez or percussionist Keyvan Chemirani.
Moreover his composing activities leaded him to collaborate with: les Percussions de Strasbourg, l’Ensemble de Trompettes de Paris, la Maîtrise de Radio France among other. In May 1998, the French Piano Trio reunited 3 pianists: Martial Solal, François Raulin et Jean-Marie Machado who played originals compositions.
In 2001, Jean-Marie Machado makes a comeback toward a more classical version of jazz with the creation at Banlieues Bleueu of the Lyrical Quartet with Ricardo Del Fra and Jacques Mahieux. The Quartet gather soloists such as Paolo Fresu, Andy Sheppard, Glenn Ferris, Sylvain Beuf and Claus Stötter.
In 2003, Jean-Marie Machado creates a duo with American saxophonist Dave Liebman around a repertoire mostly dedicated to fado. The album resulting from this project won’t be recorded until 2004 during a tour and in one day only. It will be released in 2008 and titled Caminando.
He records in 2006 Sœurs de sang avec Jean-Philippe Viret and Jacques Mahieux. This album is in two parts : the first part is a trio and the second one is a solo in which fado and saudade influences are noticeable. In 2004 a new collaboration emerges with Antonio Placer.
In 2005, Jean-Marie Machado composes and arrange the album Sextet Andaloucia with Jacques Mahieux, Bart de Nolf, Andy Sheppard, Claus Stötter and Gary Valente. The eponymous album covering Andalousian music theme will be recorded in 2005.
In 2006 he creates the repertoire Impressions for jazz quartet and chamber orchestra, the repertoire is also introduced in a duo with Andy Sheppard but also in a quartet.
The same year he creates the Danzas orchestra with Jean-Charles Richard, Claus Stötter, Gueorgui Kornazov, Jocelyn Mienniel, François Thuillier, Didier Ithursarry, Bart de Nolf, François Merville. This heterogeneous nonet gathers around Jean Maris Machado compositions. Fiesta Nocturna the first program is created in 2008 which album was released in 2010 via Bee Jazz. The second one, La Fête à Bobby a tribute to Bobby Lapointe is recorded with André Minvielle.
