New Endorsements!

I am very happy, and honored to announce a partnership with two amazing companies and their products: SOULTONE Cymbals, and LEXICON PRO audio: 


Lexicon Pro Audio          www.soultonecymbals.com 
         


SOULTONE is revolutionizing the industry, in my opinion. Fantastic sounding cymbals, great attention to detail and high quality, and amazing people involved... 
from the Soultone website: "Originally founded in 2003 by the legendary drummer, percussionist, and entrepreneur, Iki Levy, after struggling to address frustrations with the major cymbal manufacturers over quality issues. 'I wanted to use the best products possible, and I had the opportunities, but I was not happy with anything those companies were producing – even with my product endorsements,' reports Iki. 'The blend of the metals we use is our own process that employs a balance of proper weight and tone properties. This creates the real difference between Soultone Cymbals and any other brand.'
Iki maintains a strict '120% perfection' policy in that each cymbal must meet his own specific quality controls. He does not sell anything that is not already exceeding expectations – if it is not perfect; it goes back to his facility."

Do check them out, and you will be blown away! 

LEXICON:

I'm so thrilled to be associated with Lexicon. I have been using their LXP reverb plug-in and it's nothing short of amazing. Great presets too, if you need something quick, and easy, but don't want to compromise on quality. Check it out!!! 
from the Lexicon Pro website: "With the introduction of the world's first digital processor in 1971, Lexicon became the world leader in digital audio. Since that time, Lexicon has continuously introduced ground-breaking technology to the audio industry. Today, Lexicon processing is heard on over 80% of all recordings- broadcast, film soundtracks, and music alike. In the home theater market, Lexicon sound is the acknowledged measure of excellence.
This year, Lexicon proudly celebrates its 35th Anniversary. For thirty-five years, Lexicon has had a dramatic impact upon the professional audio industry (with over eighteen years also in the consumer market). We invite you to look into our history and celebrate our anniversary with us. Please examine our legacy pages to see Lexicon's rich product past as well as the current product pages to see the present and future of this historic line."

New drum lesson

Hello again!

As many of you know, I have been writing for Modern Drummer Magazine in Brazil, and many of you have been reaching out commenting and supporting the lessons and ideas! I am honored to be able to share these with you, and specially on such a great publication! I decided to post some of these materials here too, for your enjoyment, and for those of you who don't have the access to the brazilian magazine....
so here it is, "Groove Analysis - Creativity Beyond the Conventional".  In portuguese, but also translated to English at the end. Just click on the link below, or find the link on the right side column "Drum Lessons". Have fun!

Groove Analysis - download the lesson here

Cool shows

I have been meaning to mention these 2 shows here for a bit.... on Oct 21st I had the pleasure to play a concert with brazilian singer Kenia and the legendary Ivan Lins, in Pittsburgh, PA. It was a very special night... a big honor for me, and we all had a great time! 

backstage before the show

In early September I played a concert with the fantastic Locke/Keezer group, which is one of my favorite bands! Featuring Joe Locke – vibes; Geoff Keezer- piano,keys; Mike Pope – bass. The legendary pianist Mr. Mulgrew Miller graced us all with his presence at the show, what a treat! 

from L to R: Mike Pope, Mulgrew Miller, Geoff Keezer, Joe Locke and MZ

MOZIK CD Release on OCT 28th 2011

My new recording, a collaboration with pianist Gilson Schachnik called MOZIK, is going to be officially released on Friday, October 28th, with a show at Ryles Jazz Club in Cambridge, MA. If you are in the area, come see us and support this new release!

You can listen to the music and buy mp3 and physical CDs on the links below:

iTunes 

Amazon

CDBaby

thanks for the support!! See you there!

Tour with Carmen Souza Quartet

Hello my friends!! 
During the second half of September and beginning of October of 2011,  I will be on the road with the amazing artist Carmen Souza and her great band. Carmen's music is an organic mix of Cape Verdean, Afro-jazz, pop, Latin and Brazilian music. The writing is beautiful, and her performance on-stage is fantastic. The band is- 


CARMEN SOUZA - vocals, guitar, keys
THEO PAS'CAL - el. bass, ac. bass
JONATHAN IDIAGBONYA - piano
MZ - drums, percussion


here is the full schedule - 


15 Sep, SAN FRANCISCO JAZZ FESTIVAL, USA
16 Sep, MONTEREY JAZZ FESTIVAL, USA
17 Sep, THE CENTER FOR THE ARTS, GRASS VALLEY, USA
18 Sep, CHICO WORLD MUSIC FESTIVAL, CHICO, USA
22 Sep, THE SHEDD INSTITUTE, JAQUA CONCERT HALL, OREGON, USA
23 Sep, WALTERS CULTURAL ARTS CENTER, HILLSBORO,OR, USA
24 Sep, CAPILANO UNIVERSITY-CENTRE FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS, VANCOUVER, CANADA
25 Sep, KIRKLAND PERFORMANCE CENTER, KIRKLAND, WA, USA
30 Sep, TEMECULA OLD TOWN THEATRE,CA, USA
01 Oct, DEL MONTE SPEAKEASY, VENICE, CA, USA
04 Oct, KENNEDY CENTER, WASHINGTON DC, USA
05 Oct, MONTREAL JAZZ FESTIVAL (all year long fest), MONTREAL CANADA
07 Oct, FALCON ARTS, MARLBORO, USA
09 Oct, DROM, NY, USA


We are having a great time on the road, meeting some great people, and plus we get to play this beautiful music every night. If you happen to live or will be around one of these dates/venues, do come by to check it out and say hi! 


some photos of the first few days: 

at Monterey Jazz Festival - sept 16th, 2011

Photo by Arturo Riera

at Monterey Jazz Festival - sept 16th, 2011

Photo by Arturo Riera

the kit I am using on the tour -

photo from San Francisco Jazz Festival, sept 15th, 2011

for more info, and to get to know Carmen's work and music, please visit http://www.carmensouza.com/

Blue Note videos

Dear friends!
following my previous blog about my group's Blue Note show in August 2011, here are a couple of videos from that performance! Hope you all enjoy it!

7 Lives (Mauricio Zottarelli)

Pinocchio (Wayne Shorter)
arranged by MZ

MZ Quintet Live at Blue Note NYC!

Hi friends!
I am very happy to announce that my group will be playing the Blue Note NYC again, this time in the middle of the summer 2011.
The show will be on August 6th, Saturday night (into Sunday), at 12:30am. It's their late show series, which means will be extra rocking so nobody falls sleep in the audience! HA!
Please come and support the group if you can and live in the area, and/or if you happen to be around NYC during this beautiful (and pretty hot so far!) summer season.
We will be playing the music from our record "7 Lives", and a few arrangements of cool Brazilian and jazz/fusion classics.
Check out a video below from our previous appearance at the Blue Note NYC, in Nov 2010. Also, feel free to share/repost/send this to anybody you think will like it. Thanks again for the loyal support and for reading the blog. See you on August 6th!!!

@ the Blue Note in November 2010:

MZ in the team of columnists of Modern Drummer Magazine Brazil

Hi friends!
Just a quick post to let you all know - and specially those of you that are/live in Brazil - that starting in May 2011, I am part of the team of columnists of the Modern Drummer Magazine in Brazil, together with Aquiles Priester, Azael Rodrigues, Daniel Oliveira, Pascoal Meirelles e Ramon Montagner. I am very happy and honored to be part of this great publication, and in such great company!
My first lesson - coming out on the May 2011 edition - talks about being creative beyond the conventional. It's an analysis of a bunch of African grooves, but also an in-depth look at how these grooves can sometimes be simple but very creative, and, most importantly, extremely effective to the song.
So, dig in, and check out some of these grooves I present. These are meant for you to play, practice, analyze.... and see the elements that make these grooves so cool and musical... It's an exercise on thinking outside the box, and I hope it inspires you to start coming up with your own parts and grooves!
here is the cover of the magazine...


I will post the lesson here at some point, for those of you that can't get the magazine and/or live outside Brazil.

thanks for the usual support, and see ya next time!

2011 - cool things part 2

Hi friends!
Continuing on my list of some of the cool things happening in 2011, I am proud to say that I signed with this great company from Brazil, FSA Cajons. I have been using their cajon (standard model, with 2 mics built-in, 2 XLR outputs) and it is pretty amazing.
Super easy to use - just bring the cajon and 2 cables, and you are done - it's ready to go.... just "plug and play"! The cajon is completely handmade, looks beautiful, and sounds fantastic.
Check out this video I did recently, while recording with the great bassist Amanda Ruzza.... hope you enjoy it!
www.FSACajons.com.br

2011 and some recent cool things, part 1: Dom Salvador

Hello friends!
First, I want to wish you all a fantastic 2011! Much happiness and great things to all of us!

It's been a while since my last post, so I want to talk about a few things I have been involved with....
(hence the "part 1" title.... part 2 coming in a few....)

I have been working with the legendary brazilian pianist/composer Dom Salvador.
I played a few shows with him this year, including a concert in São Paulo Brazil at the Bourbon Street Jazz Club in June, and more recently, at the Copacabana Palace Hotel in Rio, as part of the CopaFest 2010. Needless to say, it's been an amazing experience. Salvador is without doubt one of the most important Brazilian musicians ever, and I believe that much of what we do today in music we owe to his incredible artistic vision and concept.
I also played drums on his latest recording, The Art of Samba Jazz, which features some of his classic compositions perfomed by trio, quartet and sextet. Definitely check it out! Here is the cover:



Here are some photos of the group, as well as a video from our show at Bourbon Street -

at Bourbon Street, SP, Brazil:



at CopaFest, RJ, Brazil:







these last two photos, courtesy of Henry Schroy. Thanks Henry!

Performing the classic "Gafieira" at the Bourbon Street, SP:




More to come, everybody... stay tuned, and thanks for visiting!