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

New published interview, and CD press

Hello friends!

I want to share with you this interview that was published on the magazine Jazz Inside NY - october 2009. They misspelled my first name, though, but it's close enough..... the JPG of the interview is below. Enjoy!

If you want, you can also download the whole magazine - oct edition - on their website.
Jazz Inside NY - October 2009

here it is -

page 38

continued... 1


continued...2


7 lives CD

My recent released CD "7 Lives" has been receiving some great press worldwide - here are the latest quotes:

" The album shows all the musicality and refined taste from this great drummer, who has all the requirements to grow even more on the Jazz and Fusion scenes worldwide, but always keeping the Brazilian touch in his music. (...) A beautiful example of how a solo CD from a great musician should be done, on which the creativity, tasteful playing and musicality are always valued." (V. Rocha, Modern Drummer Magazine Brazil)

"A convincing debut album from a drummer you certainly should know.” (from www.jazzdrummerworld.com)

Zottarelli, who wrote seven out of the eleven songs, is not only a gifted composer but also a great producer. '7 Lives' is a hit! (Silvano Gerosa, Jazz'n'More Magazine - Switzerland)

“(…) Featuring Zottarelli’s many different rhythmic and compositional skills, this album is high-quality Brazilian jazz”.
(H.Sugita - Swing Journal – JAPAN)

New CD from guitarist Prasanna

On this past September I recorded some tracks for the new CD release by guitarist Prasanna.
Prasanna hails from India, but he is based on the US. His music is a mix of Carnatic South Indian music, Jazz, Fusion, Rock, and everything in-between.
Really amazing writing, challenging, and fun music to play and listen to!
The line-up of this upcoming release includes:
Prasanna (guitars); MZ and Rodney Holmes (drums); Mike Pope and Bill Urmson (bass); Shalini (vocals); Dave Douglas (trumpet); Vijay Iyer (piano); Rudresh Mahanthappa and David Binney (saxes); and more guests to come. The CD is still in production/recording phase, but it should be done soon. I will keep you all posted here and on my website. Do check out Prasanna's website in the meantime, and get acquainted with this amazing artist!!

Prasanna's website

following are some photos of the sessions:


MZ in the studio


Mauricio and Prasanna


Bill Urmson



Dave Douglas and Prasanna


MZ, Prasanna and Dave Douglas

Cool music!

hey all!
I have been listening to a couple of great brazilian drummers, and I want to share their wonderful talent and music with you all.

One of them is Cuca Teixeira,a prolific drummer/percussionist who has performed with A LOT of great names, both in the pop, jazz, fusion and latin/brazilian scenes. His new project is a trio called Neural Code with Thiago do Espírito Santo and Kiko Loureiro. The CD is great, and showcases the trio very well, with their unique and interesting mixture of rock, jazz, fusion - creating a contemporary brazilian sound. Check it out!
Neural Code's myspace page

The next guy is another incredible musician and educator: Christiano Rocha, a highly creative and proficient drummer and percussionist. His new release "Ritmismo" is a super cool record, done with the help of some of the best musicians around. Christiano plays very fluently through many different styles, time signatures and intricate passages - all of that with tremendous musicality and some very tasteful drumming. Christiano also has a book out, "Bateria Brasileira" (Brazilian Drums), which is the most comprehensive (and perhaps the most complete!) drum book on Brazilian music I have seen. Check him out at:
Christiano's myspace page

Besides this two amazing guys, I have been checking out some other cool stuff - another killer record is Brian Blade Fellowship's "Perceptual". Beautiful music, and beautiful playing from everyone! Check it out ASAP!

happy listening!!
mz

Lesson on Modern Drummer Brazil - July 2009

Hello friends!

On the past month of July the Brazilian edition of Modern Drummer magazine published an article of mine, a warm up exercise for drumset involving hands and feet. This is something I have been using to some extent before gigs, recording sessions, and/or to get the body and limbs going before practice sessions.
The article is in portuguese, but here is the basic idea for all of you English speakers out there!

"D" means right hand - "E" means left hand.
Lines 1 through 5 go over the exercise, which covers 16th notes, quintuplets, 16th triplets, septuplets, and 32nd notes. Do use a metronome to make sure that all the groupings are being played correctly, specially the 5's and 7's. Be careful no to rush, and start slow and increase your speed gradually.

Lines 6 and 7 are examples of other ideas that can be used to practice the exercise. Using the left foot in the place of the right foot is certainly an option. Another idea is to use the left foot to play quarter notes, eight notes and or different ostinatos while playing the exercise as written. Lastly, you can alternate where the bass drum starts - play BD-RH-BD-RH, instead of RH-BD-RH-BD. (line 6)

Enjoy!

for any questions, please contact me through www.mzdrums.com