SMJ FACULTY
NILSON MATTA – ARTISTIC DIRECTOR, SMJ WORKSHOPS
Nilson Matta
2009 Grammy nominee Nilson Matta has been a creative force in the evolution and popularity of Brazilan Jazz in the United States. It was not long after he came to New York in 1985, that he was performing and recording with Grammy-winning jazz greats Joe Henderson, Don Pullen, Kenny Barron, Bob Mintzer and Randy Brecker, as well as Herbie Mann, Lee Konitz and Mark Murphy. Drawing from these collaborations, and from his work with Brazilian luminaries such as Hermeto Pascoal, Joao Gilberto, Luis Bonfa, and Johnny Alf in Brazil, to name a few, Matta has developed his own musical signature making him a first-call bass player of Brazilian music and jazz musicians. It’s not surprising therefore, that when Yo Yo Ma sought band members for his Brazilian project, Nilson was the obvious choice for bass. Their recording of two Grammy CDs (Obrigado Brazil and Brazil – Live in Concert) prompted a two-year worldwide tour touching every corner of the globe.
Known as well as a founding member of two internationally acclaimed groups – Trio Da Paz (Rumero Lumbado, guitar; Duduka de Fonseca, drums) and Brazilian Trio (Helio Alves, piano; Duduka de Fonseca, drums) – Matta has emerged in recent years as bandleader, composer, arranger and producer. In 2008, he released Walking With My Bass, an autobiographical CD incorporating special guests from his long and distinguished career: João Bosco, Ivan Lins, Harry Allen, Rosa Passos, Robertinho Silva, Mauricio Einhorn, Joyce, Helio Alves, Vic Juris, Filó Machado, Claudio Roditi, Kenny Barron, and more. His next release, Brazilian Voyage – Copacabana on Zoho Records (“cooks like crazy on several tracks, insinuates sensually on others, and turns romantically sentimental on the ballads” – JazzReview.com) takes the listener on a musical journey through Brazil’s diverse geographic regions – via Matta’s artful arranging of masterpieces of masters (Villa Lobos), not to mention Matta’s original compositions such as Baden and Copacabana which have earned him wide acclaim as a composer. His upcoming CD Orpheus, is scheduled for release February 2013 by Motema,
Matta is committed to passing on his talents and experiences to the next generation of bassists. He is a member of the International Society of Bassists, making frequent appearances as a featured guest and performer at the ISB conventions. He has taught at NYC’s Bass Collective, Litchfield Jazz Camp, and has conducted master classes worldwide. As Artistic Director of Samba Meets Jazz Workshops in Bar Harbor Maine (SmJ-Bar Harbor) and Samba Meets Jazz Workshops – Brazil (SmJ-Brazil), he has become a leading figure in promoting the music he is passionate about – Brazilian Jazz.
2013 SAMBA MEETS JAZZ - RIO DE JANEIRO
IVANS LINS — GUEST FACULTY (Vocalist/Composer)
Ivan Lins
Three-time Latin Grammy winner Ivan Lins has been an active and prolific performer, songwriter, and superstar of Brazilian popular music (MPB) and jazz for over 30 years. His songs have made their way from Brazil into the American jazz lexicon and have been performed by a “who’s who” in jazz – from Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughn, Barbara Streisand to Toots Thielemans and Dave Grusmin. Lins’ longtime composing partner is Vitor Martins. Their songs typically feature lush harmony with a distinctive jazz sensibility.
Born in Rio de Janeiro, Ivan spent several formative years in Boston while his father, a naval engineer, continued graduate studies at M.I.T. Relocating to his native Brazil, Ivan studied at the Military College in Rio and later received a degree in industrial chemical engineering from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro. He considered a career in volleyball before discovering his passion and talent for music.
In 2005, Ivan won two Latin Grammy Awards; Album of the Year and Best MPB (Música Popular Brasileira) Album for Cantando Histórias. He became the first Brazilian artist and Portuguese-language artist to win the Latin Grammy for Album of the Year. No other Brazilian artist or Portuguese-language artist has won the award since then.
In 2000, his career was celebrated by Carnegie Hall, when he performed there at a tribute concert to his music and career. Other performances in New York include NYC’s Blue Note (2003) and Jazz at Lincoln Center when he performed with Rosa Passos. Ivan Lins continues to maintain an active touring schedule.
MIKE DiRUBBO – JAZZ ARTIST (Ensemble, Jazz Improv & Harmony)
Mike DiRubbo
BIO COMING SOON…. in the meantime, here are some “Raves”
“Mike DiRubbo has a big, bold alto tone, an unerring time feel and remarkable facility on the instrument” – Bill Milkowski, Jazz Times;
“Mike DiRubbo plays with fire and intelligence, and his music dances with life.” Francis Davis, Village Voice
“There is something inexplicably unique about his tunes. Whether it’s a ballad, a mid-tempo jaunt or an uptempo cooker, once you get a feel for his style, his songs become instantly recognizable. That’s a trait that few modern jazz composers possess, and it wouldn’t surprise me if some of his tunes were to be considered standards some day.” – Roman St. James, Jazz Review.com
ALFREDO CARDIM (Piano/Ensemble/Vocal Accompaniment)
Alfredo Cardim
Having studied piano at Berklee College of Music during the first half of the ’70s, Alfredo Cardim continued his advanced studies with Don Sebesky and later at the Juilliard School of Music. As a sideman, Cardim performed with Cláudio Roditi (with whom he recorded Red on Red), Astrud Gilberto, Joe Lovano, Naná Vasconcelos, Paquito D’Rivera, Joe Hunt, Milton Banana, Fogueira Três (Bossa Nova Vol. 1 and Bossa Nova Vol. 2), Edison Machado (with whose quartet he recorded Obras), Raul de Souza, Paulinho Trumpete (Um Sopro do Brasil), Mônica Hatch (If You Never Come to Me), Toninho Horta, and Joyce (Áqua e Luz and Joyce Live). As a soloist, he performed at the Blue Note, Sweet Basil, Village Gate, the Telecom Jazz Festival (Argentina), Umea Jazz Festival (Sweden), Mozart Concert Hall (Austria), and in the New Morning Jazz Club (Paris, France), recording Bossa Blues with Joe Hunt and Barry Smith and Bossa Nova & MPB with Nilson Matta and Duduka da Fonseca. His composition Constelacion was just recorded on the Brazilian Trio’s (Nilson Matta, Duduka da Fonseca and Romero Lubambo) most recent CD.
PASCOAL MEIRELLES (Drumset/Percussion)
Pascoal Meirelles
Pascoal Meirelles is known as one of the best drummers in Brazil. Also a composer and arranger, he has worked extensively as session musician for performers such as Tom Jobim, Gonzaguinha, Hélio Delmiro,Wagner Tiso, Chico Buarque, Danilo Caymmi, Edu Lobo, Paulo Moura, Maysa, Wilson Simonal, João Bosco, and Ivan Lins. His first solo album was Considerações a Respeito (1981), followed by four others (in 1983, 1987, 1992, and 1998), and a compilation (1995). Pascoal Meirelles is one of the founders of the group Cama de Gato, one of the most successful instrumental groups in Brazil, which has recorded several albums and toured Brazil, Spain, France, Belgium, and the United States. Starting as a self-taught drummer, he became a professional at 18 in his hometown. In 1966, he formed his group Tempo Trio, with which he recorded his first album through Odeon. In 1967 he moved to Rio de Janeiro RJ, joining Paulo Moura’s group as well as recording and performing shows with Maysa, Wilson Simonal, João Bosco, Ivan Lins, and other artists. He toured Mexico in 1972 and the U.S. in 1974 with the group Festa Brasil (which also employed Simone, Tenório Jr., Fernando Leporace, Chiquito Braga, and João de Aquino). In 1975 he received a scholarship for the Berklee College of Music (Boston) where stayed until 1979. He also performed in jazz clubs in the U.S. and performed the show Saravá in New York. During that stay he also contributed to Tom Jobim’s double album Terra Brasilis. Returning to Brazil, he performed for over ten years in Gonzaguinha’s band, having also recorded with Hélio Delmiro (“Emotiva”), Wagner Tiso(“Coração de Estudante”), Chico Buarque (“Ópera do Malandro”), Danilo Caymmi (“Cheiro Verde”), andEdu Lobo, among others. As an educator, he started workshops in Europe and released a book in 2000.
MUIZA ADNET (Vocals)
Muiza Adnet
Muiza Adnet, a graduate of UniRio teaches Brazilian Popular Singing at Escola In Concert, a private music school in Ipanema, Rio de Janeiro,” and is actively engaged in performing and recording. Born in Rio de Janeiro in 1970, into a family of musicians, she started recording children’s albums when she was still a child. Later she recorded advertisement jingles and started participating as a backing vocalist in several recordings for Brazilian Popular Music artists. Between 1991 and 1992, she joined Banda Nova of Antonio Carlos Jobim, taking part in shows at Mangueira’s Samba School, the Jockey Club and Canecão, besides recording in “Noel Rosa’s Songbook” produced by Almir Chediak, and in the CD “No Tom da Mangueira” produced by Hermínio Belo de Carvalho. Muiza also participated in Brahma’s historic commercial with Tom Jobim in a virtual meeting with Vinícius de Moraes, singing “Eu sei que vou te amar.” In 1999, she took part in the CD series “Decadas Collection” MPB of 50s and 60s, released by Indie/Universal, produced by Roberto Quartin, with Mario Adnet’s musical arrangements. In 2000, she took part in Mario Adnet’s CD “Villa-Lobos Coração Popular” and the release of the same with a show in Teatro do Leblon, being then very flattered by the critics. In 2001, she took part in the double CD ”Ouro Negro”, produced by Mário Adnet and Zé Nogueira, singing with Moacir Santos. In 2002, she participated of “Jobim Sinfônico” CD and DVD, recorded in Sala São Paulo, with the São Paulo Estate Symphonic Orchestra. In December 2004, she graduated from Unirio (University of Rio de Janeiro) as a music teacher. In 2005, she participated of “Jobim Sinfônico” Concert presented at The Broward Center for the Performing Arts, in Fort Lauderdale, Florida; of “Choros e Alegria” CD by Moacir Santos; of “Ouro Negro” DVD; of the release shows of “Choros e Alegria” in Auditório Ibirapuera in São Paulo and in Sala Cecília Meireles in Rio de Janeiro. In 2006, recorded her first solo CD “Muiza Adnet sings Moacir Santos”, with special participations of Moacir Santos himself, Milton Nascimento and Ivan Lins, with her brother Mario Adnet’s musical arrangements and direction. In December 2006, she participated of “Jobim Sinfônico” Concert presented at Theatro Municipal of Rio de Janeiro with the Brazilian Symphonic Orchestra. In July 2007, she took part as a backup vocalist in the recording of Paulinho da Viola’s “Accoustic MTV” DVD. In August, 2007, she launched her first solo CD “Muiza Adnet sings Moacir Santos” with a show at “Estrela da Lapa” in Rio de Janeiro.
2012 TEACHING ARTISTS
LENY ANDRADE – VOCAL [Photo & Bio to be posted)
ARTURO O'FARRILL - Latin Jazz /Piano/Big Band Band
Arturo O’Farrill
Pianist, composer, educator, and winner of the Latin Jazz USA Outstanding Achievement Award for 2003, Arturo O’Farrill was born in Mexico and grew up in New York City. In 2002, Mr. O’Farrill created the Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra (ALJO) for Jazz at Lincoln Center due in part to a large and very demanding body of substantial music in the genre of Latin and Afro Cuban Jazz that deserves to be much more widely appreciated and experienced by the general jazz audience. His debut album with the Orchestra, Una Noche Inolvidable, earned a GRAMMY award nomination in 2006.
Educated at the Manhattan School of Music, Brooklyn College Conservatory, and the Aaron Copland School of Music at Queens College, Mr. O’Farrill played piano with the Carla Bley Big Band from 1979 through 1983. He then went on to develop as a solo performer with a wide spectrum of artists including Dizzy Gillespie, Steve Turre, Freddy Cole, The Fort Apache Band, Lester Bowie, Wynton Marsalis, and Harry Belafonte.
In 1995 Mr. O’Farrill agreed to direct the band that preserved much of his father’s music, Chico O’Farrill’s Afro Cuban Jazz Orchestra, which has been in residence at Birdland, New York City’s famed nightclub, for the past 15 years, as well as performing throughout the world as a solo artist and with his smaller groups.
Besides recording eight albums as a leader for Milestone Records, 32 Jazz, Zoho, and M & I (Bloodlines, A Night in Tunisia, Cumana Bop, Live in Brooklyn, The Jim Seeley/Arturo O’Farrill Quintet, Song for Chico with the ALJO, In These Shoes with Claudia Acuna, and Risa Negra), Mr. O’Farrill has appeared on numerous records including the GRAMMY-nominated Heart of a Legend, Carambola, and the soundtrack to the critically acclaimed movie Calle 54. Mr. O’Farrill was a special guest soloist at three landmark Jazz at Lincoln Center concerts—Afro-Cuban Jazz: Chico O’Farrill’s Afro-Cuban Jazz Orchestra, November 1995; Con Alma: The Latin Tinge in Big Band Jazz, September 1998; and the 2001 Jazz at Lincoln Center Gala: The Spirit of Tito Puente, November 2001. In the spring and fall of 2002, he was also the featured artist in Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Jazz in the Schools Tour, when he led a Latin jazz quintet for more than 50 educational performances that reached over 10,000 students in NYC metropolitan area schools.
As an educator, he has taught master classes, seminars, and workshops throughout the world for students and teachers of all levels. Recently, Mr. O’Farrill received the Distinguished Alumnus Medal from Brooklyn College and served as the Alan and Wendy Pesky Artist in Residence at Lafayette College. In the summer of 2007, Mr. O’Farrill served as Visiting Artist at Haystack Mountain School of Crafts. From 2007-2008 he was Assistant Professor of Jazz at The University of Massachusetts in Amherst, and from 2008-2010, he served as Assistant Professor at SUNY Purchase.
Throughout the past few years, Mr. O’Farrill has toured the U.S., Europe, and Asia, and in the spring of 2006, led the ALJO on a tour of Mexico. In 2007, the ALJO left Jazz at Lincoln Center to pursue its own educational and performance opportunities. To that end, the Afro Latin Jazz Alliance was created as a not-for-profit organization dedicated to the preservation, furthering, and education of Afro Latin jazz.
Since its departure from Jazz at Lincoln Center, the Orchestra has performed in the prestigious Megaron Concert Hall in Athens, The Bern Jazz Festival, The Rialto Concert Hall in Atlanta, and with its new performance partner, New York’s acclaimed Symphony Space, where it has been in residence since 2007. The Alliance also established a residency in the schools program with weekly private and ensemble classes for inner city kids.
The ALJO’s 2008 album Song for Chico (Zoho Records) received unanimous critical acclaim and in February 2009 won the GRAMMY for Best Latin Jazz Album of the Year. Mr. O’Farrill recently recorded the newest album with the ALJO, 40 Acres and a Burro, to be released in early 2011. A recognized composer, Mr. O’Farrill has received commissions from Meet the Composer, Jazz at Lincoln Center, The Philadelphia Music Project, The Big Apple Circus, Symphony Space, The Bronx Museum of the Arts, and R.D. Rice. He has also composed music for films including Hollywoodland and Salud. He lives in Brooklyn with his wife, classical pianist Alison Deane, and their sons, Zachary and Adam, who are both accomplished musicians.
CAFE – photo & bio to be posted soon.
STEVE WILSON – Saxophone, Clarinet, Flute
Picture coming soon!
STEVE WILSON is not only a prominent position on the bandstand and in the studio with some of the greatest names in jazz, he has has received critical acclaim as a bandleader in his own right. A musician’s musician, Wilson has brought his distinctive sound to more than 100 recordings led by such celebrated and wide-ranging artists as Chick Corea, George Duke, Michael Brecker, Dave Holland, Dianne Reeves, Bill Bruford, Gerald Wilson, Maria Schneider, Joe Henderson, Charlie Byrd, Billy Childs, Karrin Allyson, Don Byron, Bill Stewart, James Williams, and Mulgrew Miller among many others. Wilson has seven recordings under his own name, leading and collaborating with such stellar musicians as Lewis Nash, Carl Allen, Steve Nelson, Cyrus Chestnut, Greg Hutchinson, Dennis Irwin, James Genus, Larry Grenadier, Ray Drummond, Ben Riley, and Nicholas Payton.
A native of Hampton, Virginia, Wilson began his formal training at age 12. Playing saxophone, oboe, and drums in school bands, he also played in various R&B and funk bands throughout his teens, and went on to a year-long stint with singer Stephanie Mills. He then decided to major in music at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, affording him opportunities to perform and/or study with Jimmy and Percy Heath, Jon Hendricks, Jaki Byard, John Hicks, Frank Foster and Ellis Marsalis. In 1986, he landed a chair with O.T.B (Out of the Blue), a sextet of promising young players recording on Blue Note Records. In 1987 he moved to New York and the following year toured the US and Europe with Lionel Hampton. Becoming a first-call choice for veteran and emerging artists alike, Wilson was the subject of a New York Times profile “A Sideman’s Life”, highlighting his work with Ralph Peterson, Jr., Michele Rosewoman, Renee Rosnes, Marvin “Smitty” Smith, Joanne Brackeen, The American Jazz Orchestra, The Mingus Big Band, The Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra, Leon Parker, and Buster Williams’ Quintet “Something More”. In 1996 he joined the acclaimed Dave Holland Quintet, and from 1998-2001 he was a member of Chick Corea’s Grammy winning sextet “Origin”.
Having been cited by his peers in a New York Times poll as one of the artists most likely to break out [on his own] as an established leader, Wilson recorded four CDs (New York Summit, Step Lively, Blues for Marcus and Four For Time) on the Criss Cross label. He then debuted on Stretch Records with Generations, his multi-generational quartet with Mulgrew Miller, Ray Drummond and Ben Riley. His second Stretch release Passages features his working quartet-Bruce Barth, Ed Howard and Adam Cruz, and special guest Nicholas Payton. Containing nine original compositions Passages established Wilson as a leader whose vision reveres the past, creates a soundscape of the present, and reaches toward the future.
Wilson’s most recent recording Soulful Song, was released by MAXJAZZ in June 2003. It features his quartet and special guests Rene Marie, Carla Cook, Phillip Manuel, James Genus, Billy Kilson, Paul Bollenback and Wilson “Chembo” Corniel. The recording, which is the debut of the MAXJAZZ horn series, issues forth a powerful and provocative performance from these dynamic and versatile artists. As Wilson explains, “It’s a tribute Black radio, as it was called then, that was particularly inclusive in its programming and a galvanizing force in the community. On the same station one could hear R&B, jazz, blues, gospel, comedy, local news and affairs, and social commentary”. In addition to new original material the program includes songs by Stevie Wonder, Chick Corea, Abbey Lincoln, Gil Scott Heron, Earth, Wind & Fire, Patrice Rushen, and The Staple Singers.
Wilson was a featured guest with Dr. Billy Taylor in his series “Jazz at the Kennedy Center” which is broadcast on NPR. He was artistic consultant to Harvey Keitel for the film “Lulu On The Bridge” as well as being featured on the soundtrack. He has been Artist-In-Residence at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Hamilton College, Old Dominion University, and for the 2002/2003 season with the award winning arts organization CITYFOLK in Dayton, Ohio which included the performance of a commissioned work. He has been a featured performer, panelist, and clinician at conferences of the International Association of Jazz Educators, Association of Performing Arts Presenters, and Chamber Music of America. Wilson was honored with the Marc Crawford Jazz Educator Award from New York University in 2001, and the Virginia Jazz Award 2003 Musician of the Year presented by the Richmond Jazz Society, recognizing his outstanding service in the advancement of jazz and education in their respective communities. Since 1997 he has been regularly cited in the Downbeat Magazine Critics and Readers Polls in the soprano and alto saxophone categories.
Wilson continues to tour with the Steve Wilson Quartet and Generations. He performs in duo with his long-time friend and colleague Lewis Nash, in the Lewis Nash/Steve Wilson Duo. He is also a touring member of the Grammy winning Maria Schneider Jazz Orchestra, T he Buster Williams Quartet, and Mulgrew Miller’s Wingspan. In July 2009, Wilson will make his orchestral debut performing the Villa Lobos Fantasia for Soprano Saxophone and Chamber Orchestra with the Vermont Mozart Festival Orchestra, conducted by Gil Shohat, at the Vermont Mozart Festival in Burlington, VT.
Wilson is on the faculty at The Manhattan School of Music, SUNY Purchase, and Columbia University, and is the Artist-in-Residence at the University of Manitoba, Winnipeg (Canada) for the 2008/2009 school year.