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.

MAIRA MARTINS
ww.mairamartins.net
(As Featured on I Love Bossa Nova)

Maíra Martins grew up surrounded by music, influenced by her mother, the poet Glória Horta, and her father, the musician Jorge Sá Martins, one of the founding members of the famous vocal group Garganta Profunda. She started her career singing in various vocal groups, such as Cinco a Seco and Equale. With Equale, she recorded the CD "Um Gosto de Sol", with songs by Milton Nascimento. Her solo career began in 2003. Since then she's been working on two different projects: 'Tremores', an acapella solo show, and 'Processo de Feitura', her first CD, recorded in June 2006. On the CD 'Processo de Feitura', Maíra sings an variety of modern songs by composers of her own generation, such as Rodrigo Maranhão, Edu Prestes, and Edu Krieger. Maíra Martins has degrees in music and dance. She graduated with a BA in Música Popular Brasileira (MPB) from UNIRIO (2004) and has a degree in Motor Recovery and Therapy through Dance from the Escola Angel Vianna (2007). She worked for four years as an assistant to the well known vocal teacher Angela Herz (2002-2005). She took courses on Vocal Teaching for Young Voices at the University of Colorado (2001) and on Corporal Research for Singers course with Ana Abbot and Maria Clara Hertz, coordinated by Ana Kfouri (2003-2004). She's also a music teacher, a company choir monitor, and a vocal coach for theatrical productions. Maíra Martins has done the vocal preparation for many plays, including "O Animal do Tempo" (2007), enacted by Ana Kfouri and directed by Antônio Guedes; "Última Cena para Lorca" (2005), directed by André Paes Leme; "Almas Berrantes" (2004-2005), from the Cia Teatro Anônimo, directed by Sidney Cruz; and "Esperando Godot" (2003), by the Cia Caratapa, directed by Chico Sólon. 

BEL MAIA
www.myspace.com/belmaiavoz
(As Featured on I Love Bossa Nova)

The new Brazilian music. BEL MAIA is a singer and composer with something to say. Musicality is a term synonymous with BEL MAIA. For years she has worked and lived in a highly musical environment where she has picked up influences not only from her native region, the interior of Brazil, but also from African music, jazz, and world music. All of these influences elevate her work to a different plane through her always engaging choice of instruments, repertoire, and her sophisticated arrangements. Above all, BEL MAIA’s work is highly personal. Despite its variety of cultural manifestations, BEL MAIA never fails to reveal a unique personality that is clearly her own. On her recently released 2nd CD entitled Novo Dia [New Day] Bel continues to mix MPB [Brazilian Popular Music] with regional rhythms and diverse sounds. Lyrically, the CD presents poetic images from daily life that reveal an optimistic, humanistic message. Musically, in this work BEL MAIA shows a new phase to her musical development with a greater variety of sounds and harmonic sophistication The CD features an A-list of instrumentalists as well including Márcio Bahia (drummer for Hermeto Paschoal), Kiko Continentino (pianist for Milton Nascimento), Marcelo Martins (saxophonist for Djavan), William Magalhães (Keyboardist for Marina Lima, Banda Black Rio) as well as musicians from her band: Marcelo Maia, Fred Valle, Luiz Chaffin, Edílson Moraes, and Ney Quiñonero. Novo Dia is a CD poised for great commercial success. The sales of her last CD, Rumo Certo, extended far beyond the confines of Brazil into countries such as Japan, Germany, and the United States. Songs from Rumo Certo received airplay in such diverse markets as Sydney, Australia; Brasília; and Rio de Janeiro. With Novo Dia Bel is determined to expand on these successes, providing audiences with a dynamic live show featuring her own material as well classics from Brazil’s rich musical traditions.

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.

DANIELLA FIRPO
www.myspace.com/daniellafirpo
(As Featured on Brazil:Sambossica 1)

I arrived in Italy in 2006,  after nine years of operation in Brazil, where I occupied an area of emphasis in the music scene in Bahia. My music starts from the matrix and cheerfulness of Brazil, traveling through the emotions and how, from the Atlantic to the Mediterranean sea. Creativity, irreverence, rhythm, poetry and emotions are the key ingredients. Mixing the samba, bossa nova and the visceral rhythms of percussion, with a contemporary language, in a fusion of regionalism and universality. In my song you can find the earth, fire, the colors of my country, Her warmth, heart, life button. But They Are Also The "voice" of people who live the suffering and hardship in this world contradictory. The European experience has Given Me A Sense of Belonging to the whole. I Was Able to experience a deep cultural exchange with artists and audiences from around the globe and this has enriched me on a personal level. My music is without borders, and has no limits of space or time. It is enclosed in my identity, what I have and feel, my essence, the Fruit of the cultures from but I like impetuosity of my character from Also. I want to come to the heart of who undertakes to Continually change, to Those Who Seek to Free Themselves from the Confines of a small thought, to touch the authentic values ​​of life. Review by Mauro Musibrasil Montalbani: "The Bahia Daniella Firpo, daughter of the tenor Renato Firpo and teacher of guitar and Acordeon Ana Maria Costa, presents her second album, which was designed long distance onset" Pela Beira ", and after a long period of living and working in Italy.

The style in this record shows Daniella adopts an interesting blend of roots folk, singer-songwriter and the most modern attitude, so much so that after the opening entrusted to "do reino Canario" , opens a series of music composed by Daniella, with the exception of "Jorge de Capadocia", in a nice version for percussion and string quartet, very Beatles. The album has moments exceptionally focused, as the beautiful " dropped or meu dinheiro ", which moves effortlessly tha ballad, samba, rap and funk-rock, or even the next" opening to love me ", delicious funk-esteem. Mindful of last residence in Italy, we Daniella even ammann a sensuous bossa nova in Italian, "The Frighteners", which could well be included in the repertoire of a better Ornella Vanoni of yesteryear, full of innuendo as sensual and sexual, a sincerity almost embarrassing, it makes even try a little 'd 'envy for the person to whom, we imagine, was dedicated. The poster Daniella style reflects her personal experiences, and aims at a fusion of different styles, including traditional econtemporaneità, between rock and MPB, with an attitude, ranging from floor personal and political level, reminiscent of the best reality of these years, such as Adriana Calcanhoto or Ana Carolina, and with a tone of voice that is closer to the latter. special mention also for art, curated by Daniella same with Nestor Madrid, which gives the drive a sober modern dress. If Daniella Firpo will be confirmed at this level, we can say goodbye to another item of importance in the contemporary scene.

BOCO DO RIO
www.bocodorio.com
(As Featured on Brazil:Sambossica 1)

Boca do Rio is música orgânica. Live music inspired by the thousands of musicians and the music lovers that have gone before us and laid the rhythmic foundations of samba, baião, samba-reggae, the dances for the orishas, and all that gives homage to the beats. It is the African diaspora alive through rhythms and pulses – it is the commonality that binds humans to the air we breathe, the food from which we nourish, the water we imbibe, and the love through which we flourish. Boca do Rio exists to share and celebrate music and everything that it brings to our lives through the cross-pollination of the Americas. It’s the water that flows from mountains to oceans, from inside to out. It’s the earth beneath our feet, the soil beneath the concrete, the minerals from the stars that grace each of our cells.

The San Francisco band Boca do Rio takes its name from the Portuguese “mouth of the river” – the place where myriad streams and sources converge into one powerful, flowing, physical energy. 

Kevin Welch on guitar & vocals:
Kevin Welch, Boca’s leader, composer, guitarist, and vocalist, embodies this concept by virtue of his personal and musical history, having lived in the Amazon and become fluent in Portuguese as well as immersed in – and transformed by – samba. In the mid-1990s he started the group Vivendo de Pão, which became a mainstay on San Francisco’s club and festival scene and opened for touring acts like Macy Gray and Los Van Van. For Boca do Rio, Welch has assembled a superb team of Brazilian and American musicians to give voice to his vibrant compositions, which he terms música organica – music that is explicitly influenced by his connection to Brazil but filtered through the sensibilities of his California base, which he shares with his versatile accompanists and musical partners.

Band Members:
Alex Calatayud - Pandeiro
John Evans - Bass
Scott Johnson - Drums
Kevin Welch - Guitar & Vocals
Larry De La Cruz - Sax

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/

MAURICIO PESSOA
www.mauriciopessoa.com
(As Featured on Brazil:Sambossica 2) 

Rio de Janeiro native Mauricio Pessoa is a 32-year-old singer/songwriter emanating from the current crop of young Brazilian music artists. A cool generation of global-minded new talents hat are keeping the great Brazilian musical tradition alive and well. Mauricio's original compositions are influenced by the classic Bossa Nova and MPB (Musica Popular Brasileira) music of composers such as Antonio Carlos Jobim, Chico Buarque, Joao Gilberto, Paulinho da Viola and other Brazilian greats. 

Pessoa has been performing solo or with his group since 2006 in some of Rio's most famous venues as well as in important tribute concerts along with major Brazilian stars such as Joao Bosco, Ney Matogrosso and Zeca Pagodinho. One of these performances 'Uma Noite, Noel Rosa' (One Night, Noel Rosa), a tribute to the great Samba composer Noel Rosa was recorded and released on CD and DVD by Universal Music Brasil. 

In 2007, Pessoa records and release his self-titled debut album produced by Rodrigo Campello also on Universal Music Brasil. The album comprised of 11 original songs was very well received by the public and acclaimed by the press as ''a successful start for a Carioca artist featuring brilliantly composed music" (Mauro Ferreira, critic, 'O Dia' newspaper). 

In 2010 Pessoa finalizes his sophomore album entitled 'Habitat' produced in New York by arranger and reeds player Ze Luis Oliveira and producer/A&R Beco Dranoff. The album is the result of Pessoa's long-standing dream to record in the USA, where Bossa Nova and Brazilian music first got worldwide attention. 

Recorded in December 2009 at Spin Studios in New York, HABITAT is centered on a concept, sonic palette and repertoire that was meticulously discussed and planned by Mauricio and producers, Ze Luis and Beco. The trio decided that the direction was to go 'old school' recording all the musicians at once live in the studio. Culling material from Pessoa's wealth of original material, the band was assembled for a marathon of rehearsals and arranging sessions at Ze Luis' studio at the Music Building.

The band includes Mauricio Pessoa (classic guitar and vocal), Ze Luis Oliveira (wood winds, percussion, arrangements), Simone Giuliani (piano), Jim Robertson (double bass) and Kenny Grohowsky (drums). The string quartet is Antoine Silverman (violin), Jonathan Dinklage (violin), Todd Low (viola) and Anja Wood (cello). Other musicians included are Darcy (trombone) and Ze Mauricio (percussion). 

The ten songs on HABITAT reflect the Brazilian landscape drawing inspiration from Pessoa's experiences traveling back and forth to Brazil. Mainly influenced by Bossa Nova, Samba and Jazz, the CD consists of a transcontinental trip through diverse rhythms, sounds and themes. 

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.