“Verde”  is a Samba akin Bossa Nova, composed by Eduardo Gudin and Jose Carlos Costa  Netto in 1985. At that time, after more than 20 years of a cruel military dictatorship, Brazil was at the very edge of getting a brand new Constitution democratically. Claiming for popular elections, there was a touching movement called “Diretas Já” (in English: “Direct Popular  Elections Right Now !”). After all, time had arrived. The literary part of the song embraces both the democratic dream and the color “green” which, to Brazilian, means “hope”. The other aspect is the always present preo ..read more

I believe it´s almost impossible to assign a label to any kind of music. But I will dare to label Joyce´s work: It has the face of Rio de Janeiro. Sometimes calm, sometimes fuzzy, sometimes happy, sometimes introspective but always beautiful. Joyce Silveira Moreno, a.k.a. Joyce, was defined by Down Beat magazine a couple of years ago as a “Brazilian treasure.” I dare to state that they are wrong. Joyce is a Worldwide treasure. Born in Rio de Janeiro, four-times Grammy nominee, singer, composer, arranger, teacher, and instrumentalist Joyce Moreno has authored more than 400 songs, interpreted by ..read more

I heard João Gilberto’s version of “Chega de Saudade” for the first time at Radio Jornal do Brasil in Rio de Janeiro. I was 12-13 years old. At that time, I was used to hearing a lot of Jazz, a few Brazilian singers, and musicians. The song itself was not that new. I had heard it before sang by Elizeth Cardoso, one of the dames of the Brazilian music of the time. Latter I somehow got to know that João was the guitar player in Elizeth’s recording. But I was shocked by the tenderness, the minimalism and, to be true, the orchestra that was behind him. I thought it was overkill compared to João’s ..read more

Choro is the first Brazilian urban music. It was back in the late 19th century in Rio de Janeiro. Brazilian musicians started to blend European melodies, Afro-Brazilian rhythms to create Choro. It is credited as being the first musical expression of Brazil’s melting pot. It for sure had a prominent place in the development of Brazil’s cultural identity. Choro remained a major popular music style until the 1920s. Samba took the lead later. After a slight decline in popularity, It has made a remarkable comeback over the past few decades. “Roda de Choro” is a traditional Brazilian kind of privat ..read more

Recorded on a show at Canto da Ema in São Paulo on November 2017.  Brazilian music has many facets. One of the most energetic local rhythms is from the Northeast of the country. It’s a place that is beautiful by the sea,  but it is hard for people living in the country’s interior. No rain sometimes for years. But even this kind of stressful life can’t spoil the nature of the people there. They love a party. Their music shows this kind of mood.  We can trace its origins to Europe as the Northeast was colonized by Dutch, French, and Portuguese.  The influential ..read more

Marcos Valle & Stacey Kent feat. Jim Tomlinson. This recording was done in a 2013 show. Their collaboration was materialized in live shows, a DVD and Cd box “Live at Birdland – New York City” and a single. “Amando Demais” is one of the most beautiful and less known Brazilian songs. Seems to be from the Bossa Nova epoch, but it is somewhat newer. The story goes that a journalist gave to Vinicius de Moraes’s family after his passing, a small poem written in a piece of paper. It had an annotation: “Carlos Lyra.” They handed the paper to Lyra, an accomplished Vinicius de Moraes partner in comp ..read more

“Rio” sung by Luíza Brito, Jana Vasconcelos on guitar. The influences on the early work of Roberto Menescal are clear. The sea, the bright Rio de Janeiro sky, and Rio’s South neighborhood in the 1960s. Born in a middle-class family in Espirito Santo state, he raised himself to be an architect. Still, he found music a lot more fun: music and the sea. I’m not sure how good he was at scuba diving, but for sure, he is an amazing music professional. Composer, musician, arranger, you name it. As a long time producer, he helped many young musicians. There’s one of his songs with explicit references t ..read more

Banda Pequi e Special Guests – Show and DVD recorded live, Centro de Eventos e Cultura da Federal University of Goias, november, 2014. The very special guests are singer and composer João Bosco and Nelson Faria on guitar. João Bosco was born in Minas Gerais from a family of musicians. He grew up listening to traditional Brazilian music besides the influences that all teenagers had at the time, Rock and Jazz. While studying Engineering, João met Vinicius de Moraes. The poet was always aware of the traditions and roots of the Brazilian culture. He was impressed by the mix up of influences that h ..read more