JULY Dates! And…. Special Guests!!
We are very excited to play for you on our dates coming up in July:
6 – Metropolitan Room – NYC
7 – Twins Jazz – Washington DC
9 – Beehive – Boston MA
11 – Nighttown – Cleveland OH (free show for the Jazz Camps)
12 – Clinic at Tri C Camp – Cleveland OH
12 – Nighttown, Cleveland OH
13 – Nighttown, Cleveland OH
Special Guests!!
We are also very happy to have the amazing bassist and great friend of ours for a long time, José Pienasola, playing bass on these dates with us, covering for Fernando. Here is a little about our dear “Pié”:
Born January 13,1951, in Sao Roque, Sao Paulo, Brazil, Mr. Pienasola began formal classical studies in 1964 at Carlos Gomes conservatory in Sao Paulo. In 1965 Pienasola recorded and toured Japan and Europe with “Acaru”, one of the greatest Brazilian Jazz group on the international jazz scene. In 1968, he joined Dick Farney quartet an extremely popular group in the bossa nova era in which he toured all over world.
Since the 60’s Jose Pienasola has been performing with some incredible musicians such as: Jeff Stout, Garrison Fewell, Andy Bauer, Tony Lada, Mike Turk, Helio Alves, Portinho, Duduka da Fonceca, Paulo Braga, Dario Esquenazi, Cidinho Teixeira, Vini Pienasola, Johnny Alf, Peri Ribeiro, Lucio Alves, Francis Hime, Rosa Maria, Jamelao, Leandro Braga, Olivia Bayton, Marco Pereira, Jair Rodrigues, Victor Bighone.
In 1987 he was awarded the Clef Trophy by the Brazilian Musician Union which was given for bossa nova best performers. Mr. Pienasola is also the recipient of the ASPCN trophy (Association of Sao Paulo?s Night Clubs). Awarded full professional scholarship at Berklee College of Music in1992 when Mr. Pienasola moved to Boston. He also received an outstanding performance Award at the Cambridge jazz Festival. In 1993 he toured of Japan with Marco Bosco and performed at Blue Note at Tokyo In 1994 he went on the road again with an International tour with Brazil Zum Zum Zum Brazilian dance company, 1998 Jair Rodrigues, tour of Brazil, In 1999 recorded in Brazil with; Chico Buarque, Emilio Santiago, Johnny Alf, Leandro Braga, Ze Geraldo, Denise Reis, Beth Carvalho, Ney Matogrosso, Leny Andrade, Elba Ramalho, Zelia Duncan, Djavan, Gal Costa, Azymuth, Maria Betania, Cristina de Holanda, Zeca Pagodinho, Marcos Valle etc. Recordings in USA with Leandro Braga, Bob Minzter, Teka and Paris Garden Planet Project, Fernando Holst, Nika, Portinho, Alfredo Cardin, Joao Marcos, Mike Turk, Leny Andrade, Conexao Brazil, Now Mr. Pienasola can be found performing at: Sculler’s jazz Club, Hilton Hotel, Gallery jazz festival, 150 Night Club, John Hancock, Park Plaza, Plataforma Restaurant, Coffey shop, Zinc Bar, amongst others etc.
On July 7th and 13th we’ll be performing alongside the fantastic singer Kenia. Here is a little bit about her:
(from http://www.kenialive.com)
Kenia Acioly was born into a family of Italian origins in the city of Nova Iguaçu, a distant working class suburb of Rio de Janeiro.
Kenia’s family moved to Copacabana a few years after, and in later years she also lived in Niterói and Leblon. Each stop along the way provided opportunities to explore the local cultural peculiarities that go into making Rio and its neighboring environs one of the world’s most exotic locales.
An interest in music came early; she studied piano and learned to play the guitar by ear. Singing however, became her path to success in music world. Influenced by such Brazilian greats as the late Elis Regina, she also began listening to such North American artists as Sarah Vaughn, Carmen McRea and George Benson. And her choice of music to interpret came not from the bossa nova of the 1960s but from the talents of the generation of composers that followed and put the Brazilian sound on the world map once again.
Arriving in the U.S. in 1980, Kenia quickly established herself as the new Brazilian singer on the scene and recorded her debut in the States with trumpeter Claudio Roditi on his album Red on Red. Several years later, she launched her solo recording career, producing four popular and critically-acclaimed albums for the MCA and Denon labels between 1987 and 1991. She also established herself as one of the most popular and successful U.S. based Brazilian musicians since the heyday of Sergio Mendes and Brazil ‘66. In 1997, Kenia launched her own label, Mooka Records, with a particularly ambitious effort; Project Ivan Lins, a tribute to the one of Brazil’s most prolific and popular contemporary songwriters, featuring Lins himself as a special guest.
