Born in Sao Paulo in 1970, she started her music actitivies with the band “Unidade Móvel” while attending the university. After the band changed the name to “Unidade Bop”, they released the CD “Quebrando o Gelo do Clube”.
In 1995, she participated in the back chorus of Jorge Ben Jor’s album called “23”. In 2001, she released her long-awaited debut album “É Isso Aí”, having the participation of Gerson King Combo, Ivo Meireles and others artists.
Her husky voice, refinement and soul songs in which the strong scent of Brazil soil is in the air make her suitable to be called the “Diva of Samba Soul”.
Sao Paulo born, Rafael started his music activities in 1992, participated in many music festivals over the country and has won several awards. In 2001 he won the Music Festival sponsored by Globo Television.
Born in Rio de Janeiro, he moved to Sao Paulo in his childhood. Simoninha has Max de Castro as brother and Wilson Simonal, a Brazilian funk, soul musician from 60’s to 70’s, as father. After performing as a member of a band he started to play solo. He debuted in 2000 with “Volume 2”, two years later released “Sambaland Club”, and “Introduce Wilson Simoninha Live Session at Trama Studios” in 2003.
Marco Bosco have been working in Brazil and Japan and in 1993 released an album with the fusion of both cultures. You will find the song赤トンボ and a joint performance with 大江戸助六太鼓.
Jazz + Fusion + Ambient + Pop is Bosco’s most contemporary masterpiece of Brazilian music. A new musical sense that only Marco Bosco himself can create using a great variety of percussions.
With Dança das Rosas, Consuelo de Paula concludes her trilogy started in 1998. Besides using guitar with nylon strings and percussion, she brings back the steel strings and introduces flutes, clarinet and cello.
Although hard to explain, her style presents the quality peculiar to the Brazilian music: popular soundtrack, erudite presentation and concerned about doing it right. Consuelo de Paula seeks purity in her music, placing art first and giving authenticity to her work.
Released in 2004, the CD – an independent production – had the constant participation of Rubens Nogueira, who composed all the melodies for Consuelo’s lyrics. “Sete Trovas e Os Terços do Samba” was written with Etel Frota. Musical partners of many years, the guitar player Jardel Caetano and the percussionist Cássia Maria worked in many of the CD’s tracks. Mario Gil’s refined arrangements give the album the perfect finish.
Consuelo’s first solo album: Samba, Seresta e Baião, released in 1998 and again in 2000 by Dabliú Records, was acclaimed by critics and the public. The singer was called “the best and most recent novelty produced by the Brazilian Popular Music”.
Consuelo recalls the Brazilian musical tradition, in a work that shows her close ties with folklore, especially congada and moçambique, rhythms from her hometown in the southwest of Minas Gerais. Inspired by the diversity of existing rhythms in Brazil, she chose the choro as the base for the musical aesthetics of the CD.
The repertoire of Samba, Seresta e Baião has reverences to composers such as Ataulfo Alves, Chiquinha Gonzaga, Paulo César Pinheiro and Alceu Valença, among others. In the course of the 11 tracks it is possible to notice the broad research conducted in partnership with movements of the popular culture – in which Consuelo found inspiration for the songs “Folia, Fitas” and “Riacho de Areia”, marked by the percussion instruments bombo leguero, caxixo, gungas and caixas de moçambique, plus the tambourine and the guitar. She is also responsible for the artistic direction, arrangements and production of the CD.
Consuelo de Paula's second CD, Tambor e Flor, released in 2002, shows a delicate voice, guitar and percussion work. The album (an independent production) is part of the trilogy started in 1998 with the CD Samba, Seresta e Baião.
The singer's second album follows the same concepts and aesthetics of the first one. The artist arranged, produced and directed the work, with the help of the arrangements and the musical direction of Mário Gil, the percussion of Cássia Maria and the vocals of Tuca Fernandes and Consiglia Latorre. Tambor e Flor is filled with symbolisms with rich songs from the public domain, proving that the popular culture can be a surprising art when presented by Consuelo de Paula.
The repertoire is balanced, with songs never recorded before and her own compositions. The songs' selection process was lengthy and only ended at the final stage of the CD’s production.
The album is introduced in a text by the composer and singer Lenine – and has among its special guests, Bocato, Filó, Silvia Góes, Arismar do Espírito Santo, Silvinho Mazzuca, Toninho Pinheiro, Nailor Proveta and Duofel. The repertoire is composed by songs such as "Asas", "Veludo Blue", "Homem Pássaro", "Azaléias", "Bom Tempo", "Neguinha, Neguinha", "Meu Amor", "Estrela da Manhã", "Pra Luiza" and "Brilho" – this last one sang by Jane Duboc.
In 2000 the duo was nominated for the III Prêmio Visa MPB – Composers’ Edition. In the same year, they released the CD Kathmandu (Dabliú Discos), with the songs "São Paulo" (with Banda Mantiqueira), "Decolagem", "Kathmandu" and "Vai Chegar"(all Juca Novaes and Edu Santana compositions), as well as "Pra Valer" (Juca Novaes, Edu Santana and Ana Caram), "Frestas de Céu" (Juca Novaes, Edu Santana and Costa Netto), "Que Bom" and "Alma Lavada" (Juca Novaes, Edu Santana and Rafael Altério), "Olhos Acesos" (Juca Novaes, Edu Santana and Cláudio Duarthe), "Talismã" (Juca Novaes and Rafael Altério), "Quanto Mais Amor Melhor" (Edu Santana) and "Vagalume" (Edu Santana and Sérgio Bello).
Da Cor do Pecado, Sanny's first CD solo released in Japan in December 2003 by Koala Records, presents her work along renowned Brazilian musicians, such as Nelson Faria, Robertinho Silva, Luiz Alves, Arthur Verocai and others.
In this album, hits from the past received new arrangements, like the track “Da Cor do Pecado” (a Bororó’s song from the 50’s) as well as “Zelão”, “Maria do Tamba” and “Palmares”, famous in the 60’s in the voice of Sérgio Ricardo.
A beautiful debut, Ana Lee gets your attention the first time you listen to it. Co-produced by André Magalhães, the album does not hide the strong musical roots of this soft-voiced and captivating interpreter. The work here is meticulously presented in the music, the gorgeous liner notes and arrangements created by Ana Lee and a group of fine musicians: Bráulio Mendonça and Ozias Stafuzza (acoustic guitars), Célio Barros (bass), Itamar Vidal (clarone), Swami Jr. (7-string guitar), André Magalhães (piano and percussion) and other names, including special appearances by Oswaldinho (accordion) and Miguel Briamonte (piano).
The album brings various musical styles and composers from the new (Chico César, Tatá Fernandes, Lincoln Antônio and Walter Garcia) and the old (Manuel Bandeira, Jaime Ovale and Chico Buarque de Holanda – in "O Que Será – À Flor da Pele") generations.
José Miguel Wisnik, a celebrated composer from São Paulo, presents in the CD the poetry of Alice Ruiz in one song, and remembers the world of the singer Maysa in the romantic "Se Meu Mundo Cair".
Distributed in Japan by Koala Records since October/2004, Ana Lee was a semifinalist in the 2003 edition of the Brazilian TIM Awards. The singer also took part in albums to be released in Europe and in Japan, like Brasilidade and Cachaça Fina (MBB Music); Estação RSMB and Música para Reciclar, of the NGO Movimento Eco Cultural, among others.
Stars, air, blue, sea, love -- that is how Vasco Debritto's kaleidoscope begins in Visions. With a daring gesture, Debritto opens the CD with heavy synthesizers. Even though that is a bit dissonant with the rest of this acoustic CD, the synthesizers somehow fit the theme of this title track. The initial impact transforms into a ballad where Paulo Cesar Gomes's piano along with Andy Wulf's soprano sax soften the introductory instrumentation. From that point on, we can hear and experience a different Vasco Debritto. With strong Caribbean flavor, "Águas" is a lighter tune. The infectious rhythm and Peter Saint Ledger's brass arrangement are the key that make Debritto's lyrics even more beautiful. This song is an example of Debritto's affinity with nature in his lyrics. Nature plays an important role in his verses, and we'll hear more about that in other tunes. His lyrics move and play with our emotions and tie us to nature. Pain and regrets are cleansed and taken down stream where all sadness disappears, says the lyrics in "Águas." The next track, the beautiful waltz "A Bailarina," the listeners enter a world of fantasy where angels and children dance happily. Peter Saint Ledger's arrangement is one of the most beautiful moments in Visions. The right balance between strings and flute gives the songs a light an breathtaking sound. The ballerina stage comes to life. With "Já Passa da Hora," the introduction will definitely make you draw a parallel between Vasco Debritto and Tom Jobim. The similarity is remarkable without being banal. The song is in fact a tribute to some of Jobim's great tunes.
Voice, arrangement and harmonies unite in a theme about love to be regained. Debritto shows his many sides here. Besides singer and songwriter, he also has a great guitar solo in this track. We'll hear more of his guitar artistry throughout the CD. Following this track, we hear a tribute to Rio de Janeiro. The words echo someone's feelings of being far from and missing the Marvelous City, as Rio is known in Brazil. Besides the natural beauty, the composer misses the sea, the open spaces, the carioca (Rio native) way of walking and, of course, the woman with suntanned body. "Rio de Janeiros" is a nice bossa and one of these tunes that embellish the beauty of Rio de Janeiro. With "Pressentimento," the live samba rhythm tries to disguise the sadness someone feels because of the end of a love affair. To be happy, the way out is to dance a samba and "let imagination take wings." If the purity of the waltz "A Bailarina" was surprising at first, it was merely the prologue for "Longe Daqui." Think of this song as the twin sister for Tom Jobim's "Lígia." The music grows from a simple arrangement of piano, bass and drums. Beautiful! Paulo Cesar Gomes is a master on piano, Kase Toro is moving on bass and Dennis Bradford gives the right beat on drums. Slowly, violins bring a certain melancholy feeling and sensuality to this composition.
To wrap things up, Peter Saint Ledger (piano) does an instrumental solo on "Somewhere in Tokyo." However, before that, Debritto once again gives us the samba "Meu Papel" followed by a tranquil duet with Romero Lubambo in "Do Amor," where love takes center stage one more time.
The album was nominated for the 2000 Brazilian Music Golden Disc Award of Latina magazine.
Vasco Debritto's most recent release, Praia dos Corais, is a very polished album from beginning to end. The same quality in presentation seen in Visions is maintained and the arrangements are better and more refined. By looking at the liner notes, one immediately has a general idea of this beautiful CD. The album is dedicated to Britto's wife and four of the most important songwriters in Brazilian music: Noel Rosa, Dorival Caymmi, Chico Buarque and Antonio Carlos Jobim. In addition to those names, a number of stellar performers also appear in this album, such as Romero Lubambo, Nilson Matta, Maurício Maestro, Marcelo Mariano, Ron Carter, Paulo Braga and Robertinho Silva. Vasco Debritto wrote and arranged all songs, except for the lovely vocal arrangement in "Pindorama," which was done by Maurício Maestro.
Choosing "Pindorama" to open Praia dos Corais was a wise decision. The vocal harmonies by Leticia Carvalho, Sanny Alves and Solange convey a peaceful and tranquil atmosphere that captivate the listener. The lightness of the arrangement as a toada is like a lazy breeze by the seashore. Here Debritto talks about "sea whispers" and a tropical forest full of delicacies that cover both fruits and minerals under a "blue, crystal-like" sky. The next track, "Por um Fio," is a lively forró with a bouncing flute solo by Roberto Stepheson throughout the whole arrangement. The lyrics jokingly tell us about what Brazilians take for granted:
"A certeza que Deus é um cara bem brasileiro,
Que nasceu em Belém, o Belém lá do norte, Belém do Pará."
"The certainty that God is a true Brazilian,
Who was born in Bethlehem, the one up in the north, Bethlehem, the capital of Pará."
Moving into a relaxed mode, Debritto performs the slow samba "Just Look at Me." The samba precedes the bolero "Navegante." Once again, Debritto comes back to the sea and safe harbor that are present in several of his compositions. Here his love is a ship that sails freely. With only a trio made up of Romero Lubambo's guitar, Ron Carter's bass and Paulo Braga's percussion, "Navegante" is one of the best moments in the album. Debritto's voice has a certain sad tone as he sings his lyrics. To lift up his spirits, "Sapateou" comes along. Rich with its swing and brass accompaniment, this samba moves the whole body. With a master's touch, we move to a slower samba in "Fiz um Samba," very full of bossa and quietness. With two thirds of Trio da Paz - Romero Lubambo's guitar and Nilson Matta's bass -- Paulo Braga's drum and percussion complete the instrumentation. The streetwise guy in the song tries just about anything he can in order to get his beloved woman to understand how much he loves her, but it's all in vain. All in all, it's a great song, great arrangement and rendition!
One of the qualities in Vasco Debritto's music is its versatility. He composes toada, samba and bolero and yet he's comfortable doing the blues. That is precisely the case of the duet in "Invenção," with Leticia Carvalho singing with Debritto about dreams (the inventions in the song) of happiness. It's a utopian world with no danger, no beggars, no fear. All of this serves as the background for the grand finale of this release, the title track, "Praia dos Corais." This song closes the album majestically. Robertinho Silva's berimbau, Leticia Carvalho, Sanny Alves and Solange's vocal and Debritto's arrangement give this track a Jobim aura. The lyrics talk about the sea, the fish, the breeze and the reef. Morning rises and life begins. The circle announced in "Pindorama" is complete.
Atemporal has a wide rhythmical universe. From the 15 songs of the CD, 14 were composed by Adolar Marin – six of which with Léo Nogueira. The lyrics, sometimes romantic or filled with sense of humor, gain life in rhythms like waltz, reggae, funk and xote – showing the multiple influences of the composer.
The album has also a rich variety of Brazilian rhythms. Adolar’s smooth voice sings samba, xote, baião, choro and modinha – simple songs of refined taste, far from rigid formulas or concepts.
Adolar Marin follows the tradition of the Brazilian Popular Music constructing songs that are simple and direct in an album carefully produced with well-defined tones and ideas expressed with clarity.
All songs from the album “Mágicas” released in 1998 was composed by Camalle himself. After the release of this album, Camalle played live shows in several places over the country.
Élio Camalle’s fourth CD, Bicho Preto, has rhythm, well-done arrangements, lyrics with relevant themes and a unique voice. The musician is responsible for the lyrics and music of 10 out of the 14 tracks of the independent album, released in July 2006. The CD is produced by Dino Barioni (who also plays guitar, mandolin, keyboards and accordion) and brings a band composed by Douglas Alonso (percussion), Giba Favery (drums), Fábio Canela (bass), Samuel Pompeo (clarinet) and Robinho Antunes (trumpet and fluegelhorn). Among the special guests, Patrizia Laquidara singing in Italian, Kana in Japanese and Monique Maion in English.
As the name of the album implies, this is a voice and acoustic guitar project only.
Marianna Leporace adds her voice to Willians Pereira's acoustic guitar. Together, they bring music from Chico Buarque, Edu Lobo, Milton Nascimento, Cartola, Guinga, Sueli Costa and other exponents of the Brazilian music. The union of Marianna and Willians' leading performances are naturally beautiful and uncontrived. The choice to open the album with "Canções e Momentos" is proof of how lyrics, voice and guitar form an indivisible gem.
The statement that "there are songs and moments that I don't know how to explain" takes the listener to the bottom of Marianna and Willians' original idea for the album. With them we travel the vast horizons of unforgettable music and interpretation.
Cartola's "Cordas de Aço" is yet another example of the caliber of this repertoire. After talking about songs in the opening track, this tune is an affirmation of the love Brazilians have for acoustic guitars.
The theme of song, voice and acoustic guitar repeats itself in all tracks, such as "Certas Canções", "A Voz do Dono e o Dono da Voz" and "Violão". Paulo César Pinheiro's lyrics for "Violão" are an extension of what Cartola had previously done in "Cordas de Aço". It is also a joy to hear the world famous "O Cantador" with its message of hope and strength to reach all corners of the world, just as the song itself has done. A Canção, a Voz e o Violão excels with a fine repertoire and exciting performances by the voice and acoustic guitar of Marianna Leporace and Willians Pereira. The album is proof that less is more, and that all it takes is superb quality as these two artists present to have such a fine recording.
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