LIVIA LUCAS
www.myspace.com/livialucas
(As Featured on I Love Bossa Nova)

Lívia Lucas (Nêga Lucas), who at present is 29 years old, has been tracing a notorious musical trajectory in Brazil. She has played not only in festivals and several musical events but also performed as the opening live act at the internationally well-known Tiradentes Film Festival, which takes place in the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais. 

Lívia, who is a native from Juiz de Fora Brazil, started her career at the age of 13 when she became a member of a church chorus in her hometown. During this time she was able to improve her knowledge of voice techniques. Later by the age of 19, she started singing in a local band and she also developed her first music project as a trio, with a violinist and a bassist. Her trio played a varied repertoire of MPB (Musica Popular Brasileira) and they attracted a wide audience to their performaces. 

In March 2006, she was honoured for her contribution to the local culture by the city hall of Juiz de Fora. Also in 2006, Lívia started a new project to save Sambas De Raíz (Root Samba), Choro and also other types of Samba that originate from this style, from being forgotten.

One year after having launched her project Música Mulata Brasileira, Lívia celebrated its success with a non-profit show in the MAM (Museum of Modern Art Murilo Mandes). She took part in an event called Central do Samba at the Cine Teatro Central in Juiz de Fora. This place is well recognized not only in Minas Gerais but also throughout Brazil for its cultural history. Starting in the year 2007, Lívia Lucas has been touring throughout Europe.

At the same time she developed several projects in varied areas such as: Afro Music, Samba, MPB, socio-cultural projects, among others. Finally, in 2008, Lívia produced and recorded her first album called Canto de Casa in Rio de Janeiro together with Gabriel Improta and Henrique Band.

Since then she has been promoting this album at well known places in Barcelona (Castelo do Montjuic, Jazz Bel Luna), Paris (Favela Chic, Divan Du Monde, Belleviloise) and at music festivals in Southern France. At this point in time she is concentrating on presenting Canto de Casa in Brazil, starting off with a series of shows in Rio de Janeiro and MinasGerais states since January 2010.

Her band is made up of top line artists:
Rodrigo Lessa (guitar and mandolin)
Rodrigo Villa (bass)
Cassius Theperson (drums)
Wili Noya (trombone)
Walmer Carvalho (saxophone and flute)

VANESSA PINHEIRO
www.vanessapinheiro.com
(As Featured on I Love Bossa Nova)

"Velvet Voice wrist copyright. A singers emission is irresistible. " This is how the reporter Tarik de Souza defines Vanessa Pinheiro. Pará, founded in Rio de Janeiro, via Curitiba, Vanessa arrived 12 years ago in the federal capital. In Brasilia, she majored in journalism and writing, and studied singing at the Music School of Brasília. In 2004, she released her first CD & received rave reviews and earned her invitations to tour in Portugal, Spain and France. In 2005, Vanessa made ​​a number of shows in Portugal and the Portuguese press was considered as a revelation of Brazilian music. Now, Vanessa released her second CD, Balcony, produced by Arthur Maia, who has the participation of great musicians including Romero Lubambo, Carlos Malta, Kiko Continentino, Lui Coimbra, Gabriel Grossi and many others. In her two albums, she shows her own compositions, which sail between modernity and post-bossa nova MPB current balance, and is competent readings of classic MPB. To the maestro Leonardo Bruno, Vanessa brings a new way of writing: refined, cultured, of exquisite taste and a strong popular appeal. All simple, but not commonplace, music or poetry. Vanessa Pinheiro has been building a solid career as a singer and songwriter and recently by Nelson Motta was considered as one of the best revelations emerged on the plateau, an artist who makes a quality MPB.  Vanessa has had some of her songs included in compilations released in the United States and Japan including the "I love Bossa Nova," in which Vanessa sings "Vidigal" (Vanessa Pinheiro / Mario Jovita), the World Music Central blog wrote "Some of the best cuts in the album are the exquisite" Vidigal "which includes the gorgeous voice of Vanessa Pinheiro." With the recognition of the public and press, Vanessa Pinheiro has led to Brazil and the world, the best music Brazilian. 

TURMA DA BOSSA
www.myspace.com/turmadabossa
(As Featured on I Love Bossa Nova)

A new look, a new way of listening and a touch of modernity, Turma da Bossa after nine years of evolving, has become the new reference for bossa nova in Brazil. A bridge between the past and the future. After performing more than 600 shows, having released two CD's and even sharing the stage with the big bossa nova masters like Roberto Menescal, Turma da Bossa is now preparing to fly higher. Each year that passes, the Brazilian music occupies a bigger space in the world. In several countries bossa nova is the basis for the creation of new rhythms and tendencies. Turma da Bossa is an example of one of these new creations. The shows are full of vibration, with the influence of the classics, yet still taking into consideration the new, such as the cool samba "Ambar", composed by Gustavo Rocha and Julio Carvana.

DANIELA REZENDE
www.myspace.com/danielarezende
(As Featured on I Love Bossa Nova)

Master in Music by the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UNIRIO), singer and songwriter, Daniela Rezende presented in September of 2010, the dissertation theses “The Voice and the Choro - Vocal Technique Aspects and The Sung Choro Repertoire as a tool to study Brazilian Jazz” under the guidance of Professor Dr Mirna Rubim. Born in Ribeirão Preto (SP), at age 17 Daniela lived in Arizona - U.S. where she participated intensely in the musical activities at the Red Mountain High School during the academic year 1996/1997. She completed her undergraduate diploma in Popular Music Studies at the State University of Campinas (UNICAMP) in 2002 and after that she moved to São Paulo city to further her musical studies and to work as a professional musician. Between 2003 and 2007 she presented several musical performances in SESCs and other cultural centers; she also taught vocal lessons, music theory and music to children for the City Hall of São Paulo. In 2006, she debuted at an international career as a singer and guitarist resident of the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Bangkok (Thailand), where she held two seasons, presenting a repertoire of bossa nova and jazz. In 2008 Daniela moved to Rio de Janeiro to pursue her master's degree in performance and at the same time she recorded her first album (SMD) “Sadness well dressed”, with the five original compositions also present in this page. Today Daniela lives in Toulouse and gradually she has been finding space for her music in France.

FABIO FONSECA TRIO
www.myspace.com/fabiofonsecatrio
(As Featured on Brazil:Sambossica 1)

If the Hammond organ tends to get the wind knocked out of it by American and European players, there is something about Brazil’s practitioners that emit the warm breeze of the Brazilian beaches and the batucada celebration of its people. Any doubt is instantly allayed with one listen to such legends as Walter Wanderley, Ed Lincoln, Djalma Ferreira or any number of Brazil’s many Hammond journeymen. While the underrated Ely Arcoverde, Celso Murilo, Andre Penazzi, Aresky Aratto, and Zé Maria all come to mind, even part timers like Eumir Deodato, Primo Jr. and João Donato (most notably on Cal Tjader’s soulful albums “The Prophet” and “Solar Heat”) breathe a welcome breath of Brazil into their occasional forays on the Hammond. Add to this pantheon the remarkable Fabio Fonseca. While Mr. Fonseca is probably just a part-time organ grinder, it’s not for lack of anything else to do. Fabio Fonseca is one of Brazil’s busiest and most highly regarded arrangers and session men. Occasionally he finds the time to gather his trio together and record under his own name. On this occasion, he’s focusing his highly individual touch on the Hammond organ, which, incidentally, was acquired years ago from Fonseca’s friend and mentor, Ed Lincoln. Like many contemporary jazz organists – most prominently, John Medeski – Fonseca articulates his Hammond lines with (mostly electric) keyboard counterpoints, which, naturally, personalizes the wonderful whole that is Opus Samba, his debut album for producer Arnaldo DeSouteiro’s progressive JSR (Jazz Station Records) label. Fabio Fonseca was born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in 1961. He began playing piano at eight and while in his teens he balanced studies of classical music with electric experiments on the Wurlitzer, Fender Rhodes, MiniMoog and Yamaha organ in the company of other young, local musicians. In 1981, Fonseca was invited by drummer Sergio Naidin to join Nota Vermelha, a band of young locals including future Brazilian pop stars Fernanda Abreu and Leo Jaime.

A year later, at the age of 22, Fonseca was invited to play with the funk band, Brylho, whose singer and guitarist, Claudio Zoli, later went on to solo success, with three albums produced by former bandmate Fonseca. Fonseca made his debut as a recording artist in 1985 with his band, Cinema-a-Dois, on the national hit “Não Me Iluda” (RCA). His eponymous solo debut was issued by WEA in 1988, right before he joined Ed Motta’s band, where he wrote what became Motta’s signature hit, the funked-out dance floor classic, “Manuel”. The 1992 album, Tradução Simultânea (Philips), featured much of Fonseca’s best work of the time and was notable for the beautiful “A Mulher de 15 Metros”, with Luiz Melodia sharing vocal duties and the legendary João Donato providing a sumptuous orchestral arrangement and lyrical piano accompaniment. To witness these early triumphs, listeners can sample both “Manuel” and the otherwise unavailable Donato arrangement of “A Mulher de 15 Metros” on the fourth volume of producer Arnaldo DeSouteiro’s spectacular A Trip To Brazil (Universal) series. The gregarious Fabio Fonseca spent the rest of the twentieth century’s last decade establishing his credentials as an influential producer for former bandmate Fernanda Abreu and many others including Marina Lima, Luiz Melodia, Edson Cordeiro, and rapper Gabriel O Pensador. His musical work over the last fifteen years also includes many arrangements and dates on a variety of keyboards for such artists as Lulu Santos, Dom Um Romão, João Donato, Ithamara Koorax, Ed Motta, Seu Jorge, and the rock band Paralamas. Mr. Fonseca has also worked with producer Arnaldo DeSouteiro on many live projects including Dom Um Romão and Ithamara Koorax’s successful 1998 European tour and the sold-out gigs the Fabio Fonseca Trio performed during the JSR Festival at the Sofitel Jazz Bar in May 2006.

Here, the Fabio Fonseca Trio follows up its 2002 release, Tudo (Jardim Magnético) with Opus Samba (JSR), a brilliant and beautiful tribute to much that came before it in the Brazilian Hammond tradition and a signpost for the way forward. “All tracks were recorded ‘live’ in the studio,” enthuses the producer Arnaldo DeSouteiro, “in only three days, plus a fourth day for some overdubs. Plus, most of the songs were first takes. “Even though Fabio already had an excellent studio (Magnetic Garden Studios), where we’d recorded together before, we felt that we needed a bigger place to give the musicians a chance to interact with other as if performing live.” That prompted Fonseca to build a new studio in Petropolis, where he and DeSouteiro are neighbors, that provided the opportunity to create a larger-than-life sound which is the hallmark of legendary engineer (and CTI sound man) Rudy Van Gelder. “Fonseca explained to a Swiss architect what we wanted,” the producer continues. “And the studio was built in eight months, with a high ceiling and a polycentric arch that proved perfect for the ‘hot and fat’ drum sound a la Bernard Purdie that we considered essential to the album’s atmosphere.” The footprints of many of Fonseca’s Hammond heroes can be heard tapping – or pumping pedals – here, from Walter Wanderley, Charles Earland, the CTI/Kudu albums of Johnny Hammond and more recently, Joey DeFrancesco. But one listen reveals that Fabio Fonseca walks in no one’s shoes. So now take a journey through Brazil’s rich Hammond organ tradition with the Fabio Fonseca Trio and discover the exciting places it’s headed with Opus Samba and, most of all, enjoy… Douglas Payne January 17, 2007 Mr. Douglas Payne is regarded as one of the most important historians in the contemporary jazz scene. He has written liner notes for albums by such artists as Oscar Peterson, Lalo Schifrin, Clare Fischer, Oliver Nelson, Yusef Lateef, Hank Crawford, Lonnie Smith, Cal Tjader and Gary McFarland. He also created a fabulous website about CTI Records

Band Members:
 Fabio Fonseca - Hammond B3, Rhodes, Wurlitzer, Clavinet, Mini-Moog, vocals.
 Pedro Leão - bass.
 Mac Willian - drums, percussion. 

DJ SHANTISAN
www.saltedsoul.at
(As Featured on Brazil:Sambossica 1)

Grown up and socialized in a small place in Lower Austria, Herbert Bachhofer, better known as Shantisan, got in touch with the Black Music Culture very early. Influenced by friends and family he irresistibly had to start collecting records. A wide selection of hip-hop and downbeat records eventually led him to collecting Soul, Afro, Jazz, Bossa Nova and especially Brazilian records. Having all those fine records at home he felt the drive to play them in front of a dancing audience. 

After several Dj-sets, the foundation of his own musical platform was the next important step for Shantisan in order to get his own thing together: Salted Soul a non-purist Afro Grooves, Brazilian Rhythms, Downbeat, House and Drum n Bass mix was born as a label and as a kind of trade mark for his parties which are now taking place in several locations all over Austria, reaching Brazil, Spain, Belgium, Germany, Italy, Slovakia and Greece. 

Until now Shantisan has done several Remixes as well as Re-Edits, including the well known "Oba La Vem Ela"-Re-Rub, released on Jazz Rec. in 2005 or the musical production for the project "Deploy" which features Austrian bass player Jojo Lackner as well as singer Lilith who has worked in several collaborations, for example with Parov Stelar. Deploy was released on Salted Soul Records in 2007. Recent works were the collaboration 'S.O.S.' together with the Austrian producer/ Dj Stefan Obermaier which was released on Sol*Selectas in New York, a remix for the German producer/ Dj Quincy Jointz (Geriba), a remix for Timewarp Inc., a remix for Basement Freaks, a remix for the Austrian Nu-Funk Legend Ed Royal, Brazil‘s Dj Soneca aka Trotter or another remix for Just Banks, Dj Farrapo, Roland Schwarz, Danny Massure, jazz.K.lipa, as well as Empresarios from the Fort Knox label! 

At the moment Shantisan is also working in a collaboration with Etage Noir's Roland Schwarz- An excerpt of this work can be heard on the excellent Jockey tunes E.P. 1 that was released on Galopp Records! 

Shantisan's true musical passion is Brazilian music which is definitely shown in his work with Brazilian singer Micheline Cardoso. His track „Favela Funk“ feat. Micheline Cardoso & Stefan Obermaier was released on Innvison Records. 

Shantisan‘s Brazilian Bossa & Drum'n'Bass fusion "Bring Back The Bossa Rock" was released in November 2008 on Resense Records. This record was number 1 seller at the Juno Broken Beat Charts in England for 2 weeks, his successor track "Aquela E Minha Menina" also reached 1 on Juno's Breakbeat charts on August 24, 2009!!!! 

Hopefully you can catch one of those legendary Salted Soul parties - keep in mind: "It's Salted Soul Baby!" 

KATIA ROCHA
www.katiarocha.com.br
(As Featured on Brazil:Sambossica 2)

Katia Rocha is a Brazilian Instrumentalist, composer and interpret, and has been on the road more then 10 years in crafting her music ability. A peaceful woman born under the sign of Taurus, but at the same time a stage energetic swinging musician, Katia has always has a very eclectic taste for music. Some of her influences include Billie Holiday, Milton Nascimento and Jethro Tull. She started her studies on transversal flutein college before picking up her things and moving to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. During this time she also studied Singing, Saxophone, acoustic guitar and musical harmony. 

Her history with the Sax has began years ago when her father gave her a saxophone. Soon after she felt it was awkward and sold it. Later the without realizing it, the Saxophone would become her musical instrument of choice and the beginning of her career. In the 80's she played in various bands throughout Brazil and released her first album in 1992. In 1996, she decided to part ways with her band and go solo and release a new album titled - Katia Rocha. The album would feature a wide variety of composers and producers including: Leandro Braga, plus participants from Ze Renato and Elisa Lucinda. The song Espirito Santino was written about the beauties of her homeland, and has become one of the dearest of songs for the hometowners. 

To get the full Bio and history on this amazing talent, please visit her website at http://www.katiarocha.com.br/

ELIZA LACERDA
www.myspace.com/elizalacerda
(As Featured on Brazil:Sambossica 2)

Eliza Lacerda began her career with just seven years of age with the disk recording folk music that enchanted Showcante produced by Joaquim de Paula.His participation in the project was not limited to choirs, was invited to be a child of the soloists.In 2001 he participated in the Coral Coast Muri ridden by Maestro to sing at the opening of Rock'n Rio III with the Brazilian Symphony Orchestra and Maestro Ray Lemma.With Voice Choir Co., accompanied Danilo Caymmi CD Tracks season at the Teatro Rival and the launch of the College Campus Dorival Caymmi Estacio de Sa.Member of Cia Cia Singers Voice Karla Boechat, Eliza sang in several shows such as "Worker's Song" (named after Gonzales), "Duets," "Just wanted to Destiny" (named after Roberto Carlos) and " Poet's Village "(in honor of Noel Rosa). In 2002, Eliza auditioned for the vocal group Women of Holland and has since become a component of the quintet that sings only the female of the work of Chico Buarque.

The group has been standing out in the music scene in Rio sold out in all theaters wherever he goes (Rival Theatre SESC, Sala Baden Powell, Mistura Fina, Little Theatre Café). All this experience and information have matured the idea of ​​a solo album, which had complete freedom in their design. In 2005, in partnership with producer, arranger and conductor Flavio Mendes (Maestro of the show Bibi Ferreira in Concert III and guitarist Bossacucanova, among others) began to produce his first CD, titled "Foot Dance ". always influenced by the sounds of Brazil, Eliza disc which has the best in the country. The already established Caetano, Gil, Carlinhos Brown and Lenine share tracks with new people that bring air to the disc a couple of contemporary popular music Brazilian. A daring repertoire sung and played with the right doses of talent and technique by Eliza Lacerda is gradually finding its place in the ears and curious of Brazil and the world. From your CD, Eliza was selected for the Project Gloss held in Rio de Janeiro in 2006.

Project that proposed to assemble the new singers in Brazilian music scene. In July 2007 Women's Holland recorded his first CD / DVD live at Teatro Municipal de Niterói. In August of that year CD "Foot Dance" sparked interest across the world and was launched in the Japanese market. independent bands had already been included in compilations of Brazilian music in Europe and Japan Eliza was called to join the casting of the label and in 2008 Albatross recorded and released in Asia, Japan and Brazil, the CD "Kid's Bossa." Music U.S. infant arranged in bossa nova sung in solo or duets with a singer mirim. Even at the end of 2008 recorded a duet with Guinga for the CD "A friend is for these things "to be released in 2009.