A day at the park

hello friends!
I just returned from a very nice trip to Brazil. Some great playing experiences, I will post some photos soon.
In the meantime, I want to share with you all this amazing artwork by artist Parker Gambino.
On July 16th I was playing a concert with the great harmonica player and composer Hendrik Meurkens at Pierson Park, in Tarrytown, NY, and Parker was hard at work during the show. As soon as we were done, he approached me with this, and needless to say, I was very impressed!



For those interested in the process, here it is in his own words -
"I create the images as my subjects are performing; when the performance ends, I am ready to close the book (except for getting autographs). Beyond annotating the event, ex post facto alterations are rare and minor, and I do not refer to photographs. Later I scan the images to prepare the JPEGs (sometimes with minimal photoshop cleanup)."

Parker is an incredibly talented guy and he does a lot of things, please check him out and support the art!
click here for Parker's website

Show Dates in Brazil!

Here is the latest info on my tour dates in Brazil!
June and July 2010:



june 27th - Workshop in Araçatuba, SP
http://alma.art.br

june 29th - show with Dom Salvador 4et @ Bourbon Street jazz Club - São Paulo, SP

july 2 - Zottarelli/Mangueira 4et @ Jazz nos Fundos, São Paulo, SP

july 6 - workshop @ Casarão da Cultura, Rio Claro, SP

july 7 - show with MZ quartet @ Clube Ginástico, Rio Claro, SP

New CD releases

Dear people,
hope everybody is doing well. For those here in the US, more precisely on the northeast, we were looking forward to spring... It has finally arrived!
I want to share with you a few CD releases that will be coming out soon - and a few that were already released - on which I am participating. Do check them out, and be sure to look back here soon. I'll be posting some more news about what's coming out.

New CD with Guitarrist Prasanna
Prasanna's new release is an incredibly diverse and virtuosic travel to often different and innovative musical territory. I am honored to be part of it!! The list of musicians involved include:
Prasanna (guitars); MZ and Rodney Holmes (drums); Mike Pope and Bill Urmson (bass); Shalini and Natalie John (vocals); Dave Douglas (trumpet); Vijay Iyer (piano); Rudresh Mahanthappa and David Binney (saxes).
It should be out towards the end of this year.

New release by Pianist/Flutist/Composer Oriente Lopez
Oriente is an amazing composer and an incredible musician. We were in the studio at the end of last year for two days of intense recording. The CD also includes Itaiguara Brandão on bass, and guests Paquito D'Rivera, Romero Lubambo, and Hendrik Meurkens. It also should be out towards the end of the year.

Scott Anderson - Music For The Quiet - Released 2010
Scott is a super talented NYC based guitarist, composer and producer. I have been working with him quite a lot, and I was very happy to be called to play on this project. Great music - a beautiful conceptual work that you should check out.
Click here for more info.

Jon Gold - Brazil Confidential - Released 2010
That was a fun project! Jon's writing is a refreshing new take on Brazilian contemporary music. Check it out.
"Intricate arrangements with a lively sense of rhythm, this recording of Jon Gold's music is attractive and full of a palpable joie de vivre. You will be entertained for sure. " -- Dave Liebman
Click here for more info.

Nilson Matta - Copacabana - Released 2010
Nilson is considered to be one of the best on his instrument, and one of the most important brazilian musicians ever. His new album features a selection of great Brazilian classics and some very cool originals. The line up features Nilson on bass, Klaus Mueller on piano, MZ on drums, Anne Drummond on flute, Harry Allen on sax, and Zé Mauricio on percussion.
Click here for more info.

Some other new projects are in the works, and I'll be keeping you all updated through this blog. Check back often!
cheers.....
mz

cool moments...

Hello friends!
hope this finds you all doing great!
I want to share with you a few very cool moments I had here in New York City recently.
In January I discovered a restaurant that since then became one of my favorite places to go. It's called "Favela Cubana", and the idea behind is simple - to blend Brazilian and Cuban Cuisines! If you live in the city or happen to be around, you have to check it out! It has amazing food, great environment, and the people there are super nice. Owner Marco Britti, an accomplished drummer too (!!) has been inviting me for a long time, and now I can't get enough of the place!
Marco also asked me to sign one of his congas, which he uses as seats for the bar (very original!).
Owner Marco Britti and myself at "Favela":


signing one of their congas:


In February I went to see Hiromi perform solo on her CD release concert here in NYC. It was great to see her again, after playing together during Sonicbloom's last year world tour. During the break, I got to talk to Ahmad Jamal, one of the most important jazz pianists ever. We were both speechless from Hiromi's performance(!)..... catch her on her solo tour if you can!
Mr. Jamal and myself during Hiromi's CD Release show:


And finally, for now.... I was so honored and happy with this one! I was playing at the Blue Note with pianist Miho Nobuzane - do check her out too, she's a great pianist and her music and playing crosses over many styles, including jazz, pop, Brazilian and latin, African jazz, you name it! - during the spring of 2008. And in the audience was one of my heros, Mr. Bernard Purdie. He came to chat after the show, and it was an amazing experience to get to know him, and hear him comment on the show!

New CD review, and featured comment

Hello all,
here is a new CD review of my recent release, 7 Lives. It just came out on the magazine "Jazz Inside NY" on their february edition.
"(...)Triumphant, exotic, pounding, electric, yet deeply grounded in the stream of tradition, 7 Lives offers an exhilarating trip across an ever-shrinking, colliding and adapting musical globe." M. Marshall - Jazz Inside NY Magazine, feb/2010
Check out the whole review:


I also had the opportunity to contribute to their feature article on "passion". I talk about the importance of being passionate about something (in my case, music) and how we should strive to find our true passion (and consequently nurture it) in order to be happy. Check it out:


You can download the full magazine for free at their website:
Jazz Inside NY Magazine - free PDF download

And, since we are talking about this great publication, they just came out with a great idea: an Audio Wall - you can visit the site and preview lots of new and great music. Download a track, or sample all you want... and then proceed to each artist's websites to purchase the rest of the album. Go visit them, and happy listening!
visit the Jazz Audio Wall

Mauricio's group live!

hello friends!
it's been a little while since my last post. I hope that everybody is doing well, and that 2010 will be a fantastic year for all of you!

I wanted to share some pics and a video of one of the projects I am involved with: my own! The Mauricio Zottarelli's quintet features a unique mix of Brazilian music, fusion and jazz, being played by an amazing group of musicians...... I am so lucky to have these guys playing with me!
We did a few shows in NYC last year, and the response from the audiences was great - also, we had a blast playing the music! So,for those of you who couldn't be there..... do check out this video below, which has some footage of our CD release performance, and shows you what the project is about. Also, below are some photos of these performances in NYC.
More stuff will be posted here soon..... more videos and also more live dates to come! Stay tuned!

Mauricio Zottarelli quintet - video EPK


Mz quintet: (L to R) Rodrigo (tenor, flute) - MZ (drums) - Itaiguara (bass) - Gustavo Assis Brasil (guitar) - Oriente Lopez (keys, flute)
Dec 22nd, 2009 @ Zinc bar - NYC








MZ's quintet @ Zinc bar - NYC
Oct 8th, 2009