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Guilherme Monteiro

Born in Rio de Janeiro in the early seventies, while Brazil was still living in a dark period of it's military dictatorship, Guilherme had an early fascination for music and improvisation. He still remembers going after his neighbor's music teacher and asking him to go talk to his mom, so he could start music lessons. He was a driven 7 year old back then. By the age of fifteen he was performing in jazz clubs and teaching privately in the city of Belo Horizonte, soon becoming one of the most respected musicians in that city. As a teenager in Belo Horizonte Guilherme cut his teeth on the complex harmonies and rhythms of the music from Minas Gerais, playing with Toninho Horta and Tavinho Moura. In 1995 he moved to the US to follow his american first wife. He worked R'n'B dives and Jazz clubs in Minneapolis and Boston (where he attended Berklee) until 1999, when he was accepted to the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz Performance, a highly selective program that accepts only eight students of each instrument after auditioning musicians from all over the world. At the Institute he studied privately with Clark Terry and Jimmy Heath, also performing and teaching clinics with these living legends. Living in New York City since 2000 Guilherme had a typical NY rough start but soon enough he was playing and recording with some of the most respected musicians in town, such as Kenny Werner, Ron Carter and Grady Tate for Harry Allen’s albums, on Slide Hampton’s Jobim’s project with Claudio Roditi and Duduka da Fonseca, and also with Lee Konitz, Randy Brecker, Bernard Purdie and Johnny Alf, to mention a few. On September 2007 Guilherme and Lionel Loueke performed in a duo setting at the 3rd International Guitar Festival in Belo Horizonte, Brazil. Throughout the years he has been living in New York, Guilherme has lent his distinctive sound to help shape the music of a vast array of artists. He is featured on Kurt Elling’s release, “Night Moves” alongside Christian Mc Bride and Bob Mintzer; Eliane Elias’ record “Dreamer”, with Mark Johnson and Michael Brecker and Luciana Souza’s acclaimed release, “Duos II”, which won her a nomination for the Grammy of best Jazz vocalist of 2004. Guilherme was also one of the special guest soloists alongside Paquito De Rivera on Arturo O’Farril’s Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra’s album: “Two Acres and a Burro”, which was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album in 2011.

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Album Review

Michael Blake: Dance of the Mystic Bliss

Read "Dance of the Mystic Bliss" reviewed by Vincenzo Roggero


Veterano della scena downtown newyorchese,Michael Blake porta al debuttto sulla propria etichetta P&M Records, Chroma Nova, ensemble dalla configurazione particolare con quattro strumenti a corda, due percussionisti brasiliani, il leader ai sassofoni e, per la prima volta su disco, al flauto. Difficile individuare un centro gravitazionale preciso in Dance of the Mystic Bliss, forse un'intrinseca vena melodica presente nelle dieci composizioni tutte a firma Blake, ma sarebbe fare torto alla grande varietà di atmosfere, di tessiture e di groove che ...

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Album Review

Michael Blake: Dance of the Mystic Bliss

Read "Dance of the Mystic Bliss" reviewed by Jerome Wilson


This is saxophonist Michael Blake's new group, Chroma Nova, which contains guitar, violin, cello, bass and two Brazilian percussionists. They play a set of compositions, inspired by Blake's late mother, dancer Merle Blake, which rely on fluid rhythms and textures taken in many different directions. Blake is often the main solo voice here but he also blends in with the other instruments to create all kinds of intriguing sonic fabrics. For example, “Topanga Burns" starts with a stately ...

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Album Review

Mary Foster Conklin: These Precious Days

Read "These Precious Days" reviewed by Pierre Giroux


Mary Foster Conklin is a New York-based singer with an eclectic approach to the choices she makes in deciding upon a repetoire for her fifth release, These Precious Days. Unafraid to step outside the nine dots, she has focussed the project on lesser-known jazz and popular compositions by predominately female songwriters. Joining Conklin are a number of top shelf New York musicians including pianist and arranger John Di Martino, violinist Sara Caswell, bassist Ed Howard, drummer Vince Cherico, guitarist Guilherme ...

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Brooklyn Jazz Underground Records to Release New Recordings from Arthur Kell, Daniel Kelly + Guilherme Monteiro

Brooklyn Jazz Underground Records to Release New Recordings from Arthur Kell, Daniel Kelly + Guilherme Monteiro

Source: Jason Byrne, Red Cat Publicity

BROOKLYN JAZZ UNDERGROUND RECORDS To Release New Recordings From Arthur Kell, Daniel Kelly + Guilherme Monteiro - Digital Release Date – May 12, In Stores – June 9 BJURecords Festival at The Jazz Gallery Thurs June 18: Bernard, Emer, Beckham, Ferber, Will Bernard (gtr), Andrew Emer (b), Tom Beckham (v), Mark Ferber (d) Fri June 19: Alexis Cuadrado Cuarteto Ibrico, Alexis Cuadrado (b), Vctor Prieto (acc), Brad Shepik (gtr), Jordan Perlson (d, perc) Sat June 20: Guilherme Monteiro, Jorge Continentino ...

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