Leandro Fortes

Biography
Teacher

Leandro Fortes is a Brazilian composer and guitar player, and released his first solo CD in 2012. Although his sonority has strong roots in Brazilian music, it also draws on influences from its South American neighbors and, beyond its immediate borders, from West Africa to produce a rich and culturally diverse sound. In 2007, he has formed Quarteto Rio Vermelho and already boasts a solid discography of 1 DVD and 2 CD’s. According to Italian newspaper Il Manifesto, “the group is organic, with a very strong individuality, but also with a elaborated universal poetic”. Fortes has already performed at important music festivals as: Festival Jazz en Lima (Peru), Cascavel Jazz Festival, Festival de Música de Itajaí, Oficina de Música de Curitiba, and has toured over 30 cities under the sponsorship of SESC. Last year, he performed at Museum of Contemporary Arts in Chicago, United States.

In 2006 he moved to New York City, playing Brazilian Music in clubs and restaurants in Queens and Manhattan, and taking private jazz classes with Billy Newman. While in NY, Leandro Fortes worked with many musicians including Ana Lu and Apostolos Sideris. He has recorded with Intrigue Productions on Debbie Cunningham's CD, produced by Barry Sames.  Leandro Fortes has performed with many artists including: André Mehmari (VISA Award 1999), Vinícius Dorin, Izabel Padovani (VISA Award 2005) and Gina Roche. In jam sessions, he could play with legends like Hermeto Pascoal and Les Paul.

Based in Florianópolis city, the guitarist has been considered as one of the most important musicians in the south of Brasil, and has been worked with Daniel D’Alcântara, Gabriel Grossi, Arismar do Espírito Santa, Fábio Leal, and many other great Brazilian musicians. According to newspaper Diário Catarinense “He is the name for jazz in the island”. Graduated at University of State of Santa Catarina (UDESC), Fortes has been teaching music along 12 years, and has done workshops of harmony and improvisation in cities like Philadelphia (USA), Cascavel, Foz do Iguacu and Ciudad del Este (Paraguay). Currently he is working on his next projects: writing arrangements for strings orchestra, soundtracks for documentaries, and recording his second CD, which must be released in 2015.