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!

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!