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Rafael Barata
Born and raised in Rio de Janeiro, Rafael Barata started playing drums at age of 5. His whole childhood was surrounded by music. The Samba and especially the Bossa Nova were his playground, always having fun with his dad Roberto Mendes and his brother Roberto Barata both musicians. This great culture genuine from RJ, Brazil, made his drumming a reference around the world. He started his studio career at the age of 14. He has won two International Brazilian Drums contests: 1st Batuka - At the age of 15, and the Batuka Masters 2000 at the age of 20. In the same time, he started to play with greatest Samba Jazz legends from 60’s that introduced to him the Jazz world. This experience enhanced his jazz approach so much and years later he went to NY, where he started to play with the Jazz masters.
Since then, Rafael has recorded and performed with several internationally acclaimed artists including Emilio Santiago, Rosa Passos, Eliane Elias, Marc Johnson, Kenny Barron, Edu Lobo, Leny Andrade, Lisa Ono, Herbie Hancock, Kenny Werner, Toots Thielemans, Antonia Bennett, Esperanza Spalding, Christian McBride, Ivan Lins, Milton Nascimento, Romero Lubambo, Zezé Motta, Liz Rosa, Angela Ro Ro, Nana Caymmi, Boca livre group, Paula Morelenbaum, Carol Saboya, Amanda Brecker, Maúcha and Muiza Adnet, Andréa Dutra, Mônica Salmaso, Joyce, Alcione, Luís Melodia, Zizi Possi, Flávio Venturini, Leila Pinheiro, João Bosco, Roberto Menescal, Antonio Adolfo, João Donato, JT Meirelles, Jaques Morelenbaum, Lula Galvão, Maurício Einhorn, Mario Adnet, Moacir Santos, Hélio Celso, Idriss Boudrioua, Osmar Milito, Durval Ferreira, Marcos Amorim, Daniel Garcia, Jeff Gardner, Mika Mori, Nelson Faria, Paulo Moura, Mike Moreno, Root System L.A. Group, Klaus Mueller, Dave Liebman, Ricardo Vogt, Leo Gandelman, Marcos Nimrichter, Cliff Korman, Augusto Mattoso, Leonardo Amuedo, Claudio Roditi, Guilherme Dias Gomes, Turi Collura, Spok Frevo, Hamilton de Hollanda, Gabriel Grossi, Hermeto Pascoal, Marcos Valle, Raul de Souza, Oscar Castro Neves, Dario Galante, Zé Renato, Roberta Sá, Paula Santoro, Ney Matogrosso, the Singer/drummer Wilson das Neves, Alma Thomas, Chiara Civello, Jenny Robson, Gastão and Antônio Villeroy and many many others.
He was the house drummer at Mistura Fina - Rio de Janeiro's Jazz headquarters - for many years with the piano legend Osmar Milito and the bassist Augusto Mattoso. At this venue, he had the opportunity to play with several great artists including Russell Ferrante, Mike Shapiro, John Pizzarelli, Jane Monheit, Karrin Allison, Kevin Lethau, Mike Stern and many others American jazz artists.
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Antonio Adolfo: Bossa 65
by Katchie Cartwright
In 1963, a seventeen-year-old Antonio Adolfo was already gigging professionally on the exploding bossa nova scene in Rio de Janeiro, his hometown. His career has continued unabated. For decades, he has been putting out a steady stream of admirable albums, earning critical praise and multiple Grammy nominations. His releases have often focused on the work of great Brazilian composers (Chiquinha com Jazz, BruMa, Jobim Forever), sometimes on a particular style or genre (Chora Baião, Rio Choro Jazz), on connections between ...
read moreAntonio Adolfo: Bossa 65
by Pierre Giroux
Composer, arranger and pianist Antonio Adolfo has a discography which extends to the very early days of the Bossa Nova craze that swept through Brazil and into North America. With his deep roots in the Bossa tradition, Adolfo is an internationally recognized Brazilian jazz personage. Many of his original compositions have been covered by artists such as Sergio Mendes, Herb Alpert and Stevie Wonder among many others. He has also helped to celebrate the work of well-known Bossa players such ...
read moreAntonio Adolfo: Bossa 65
by Chris May
A decade or more younger than the composer / musicians in the first wave of bossa nova artists, Antonio Adolfo began recording under his own name towards the end of the 1960s. Better known as a pianist and arranger than as a composer, though he has written some notable tunes, in recent years Adolfo has carved out a niche celebrating the work of belle epoque bossa songwriters. In 2017, Adolfo sidestepped with Hybrido: From Rio To Wayne ...
read moreAntonio Adolfo: Octet And Originals
by Richard J Salvucci
Some people can probably say what they were doing the first time they heard modern Brazilian music. The first wave hit in the early '60s with Vinicius de Moraes and Antonio Carlos Jobim, but there has been a great deal of water over the dam since then. Stylistic variety, regional variations, new composers, two generations of players, technical advances in both recording and instrumental technique have all played a part in establishing Brazilian as some of the most listenable music. ...
read moreAntonio Adolfo: Octet And Originals
by Pierre Giroux
Antonio Adolfo is a pianist, composer, arranger and bandleader in the Latin jazz tradition, but his music is informed by Brazilian musical styles of the samba, bossa, quadrilha and toada. This latest Adolfo release entitled Octet And Originals features all his original compositions and are played by a stellar band of musicians who have been connected with him for many years. This ten track outing starts with Heart Of Brazil," which is a tribute to the ...
read moreDave Zinno: Fetish
by Rob Rosenblum
While it is obvious that bassist Dave Zinno put a lot of thought into the writing and arrangements here, it is the quality of solo performances that gives this album its worthy distinction. Some may be familiar with pianist Tim Ray from his inclusion in the trio backing one of altoist Greg Abate's albums and his own trio outing on Whaling City Sound label. But trumpeter Eric Benny Bloom and most impressively, the tenor mastery of Mike Tucker, were previously ...
read moreDave Zinno Unisphere: Fetish
by Jack Bowers
Dave Zinno's New York-based Unisphere is a quintet/sometime sextet that is rhythmically sound, melodically smooth and anchored by his assertive bass lines. The group employs a splendid two-horn front line (tenor saxophonist Mike Tucker, trumpeter Eric Benny Bloom) and adds a third, trombonist/arranger Rafael Rocha, on the freewheeling closer, Meu Fraco e Cafe Forte" (in English, My Weakness Is Strong Coffee") but Rocha doesn't solo. The quintet morphs to sextet on five other numbers wherein keyboardist Leo Genovese joins the ...
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Music
Flor de Lis
From: A Kiss for BrazilBy Rafael Barata
Heart Of Brazil
From: Octet And OriginalsBy Rafael Barata
Baião Cansado
From: Baião CansadoBy Rafael Barata