E Minha Vez

• Track Listing

I was born in Poços de Caldas; a small town in Brazil. I started singing when I was 6 years old. My daddy would sit on the couch, composing songs and I would sing along with him. He taught me about interpretation and how to play to an audience. My first professional contract was singing at political rallies throughout my home state of Minas Gerais. At 11, I was singing in nightclubs and at private parties. Through everyone's eyes I was a huge success at so early an age. But I wasn't happy. I didn't like the kind of music I was singing. I was offered my first recording contract at 12. I turned it down. People were surprised. People were angry. I took a break from performing. It's important to me to connect to my audience; to make them feel better than when they came in; to leave an impression in their soul. That's not easy to do when you are only singing rock, axé, pagode and carnival. My main goal was to simply sing the kind of music I wanted to sing; and to compose! So I left Brazil and went to New York to sing bossa nova jazz fusion. Ella Fitzgerald and Leny Andrade influenced my style. Unfortunately, the gigs that paid were the ones for pop, rock and axé. I didn't last very long doing that and I stopped singing again. A few years passed by and I gave it another try. I was singing bossa nova; mostly at Brazilian BBQ houses and a few private parties. But I still had no confidence to write my own songs. I took a trip to California for some inspiration! Sitting on the beach one day, the lyrics for É Minha Vez popped into my head. From that day on things really took off. I charged ahead and this first CD is the result of this energy. My style is a combination of jazz fusion with the older rhythms of Brazil like bossa nova, baião, and samba. Listen to the creative arrangements for Darlin' (an old Beach Boys' tune) and Mudar O Mundo (Change the World), the bossa nova in Escondido, the power of Canto de Ossanha, the smooth jazz of Tarde em Itapoã, and the samba in Samba do Soho. My music is rich in Brazilian percussion and creative horn and guitar solos further enhancing your listening experience. I want my lyrics and beat to reach out to you; and land in your hearts and souls. I hope you enjoy my music.