BIO - REVIEWS - PROJECTS (past & present) - DISCOGRAPHY
(click HERE for my resume in PDF format)
Itaiguara Mariano Brandao was
born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. At the age of 7, he studied piano and music
theory, and started taking music seriously at the age of 11, playing classical, chorinho and other Brazilian styles on classical guitar.
At 13, he started playing the bass influenced by progressive rock bands, like YES
and RUSH, and his first professional performance was at the age of 15. He
attended Santo Inacio High School and graduated in Electrical Engineering -
Telecommunications, from PUC-RJ. During this period, he practiced acoustic guitar
heavily and played bass with local bands in Rio.
In 1993, he moved to Boston to attend the renowned Berklee College of Music. He
won a Berklee Achievement Scholarship and began doing several live
performances, radio/TV appearances, and CD recordings.
After receiving a Professional Music Achievement Award from Berklee College of
Music in April '95, he moved to New York City, where he became one of the most
sought-after freelance musicians in the United States, with nearly 4,000
performances in the past 13 years.
This solid experience assures his success as a sideman. Itaiguara knows by
heart, in all keys, literally thousands of tunes. In addition, he has
a very deep rhythmic concept, great energy, memory and concentration, a
comprehensive harmonic knowledge and an extremely professional attitude, with
profound respect for music and for real musicians. He is the bass player of
choice of dozen of world class band leaders and has performed with almost one
thousand musicians.
In New York, he has been working for record companies such as SONY, BMG, LUX
(Nelson Motta's company), Malandro Records, ClaveBop, and performing/recording
with Paulo Braga Band as music director, Randy Brecker, Paul Winter, Paquito de
Rivera, Robin Eubanks, Dave Kikoski, Emilio Santiago, Elba Ramalho, Guilherme
Arantes, Bebel Gilberto, Portinho, Romero Lubambo, Hugo Fattoruso, in the USA
and Europe.
He was a contributor to the educational book/CD "Inside the Brazilian Rhythm Section"
written by Nelson Faria/Cliff Korman and published by SHER MUSIC CO.
Itaiguara graduated summa cum laude from Berklee in 1997 and studied jazz
improvisation with the legendary Charlie Banacos and arranging with Mike Longo
(Dizzy Gillespie's music director for 9 years).
He holds a permanent resident visa issued by the US government to "foreign artists with
extraordinary abilities" .
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here's what people are saying:
"Mr. Itaiguara Brandao, the internationally acclaimed bassist from Brazil, exposes a unique facet of Brazilian music and culture to the American public."
Cecilia Ishitani - Deputy Consul, Head of the Cultural Department of the Brazilian Consulate in New York
"...with Brazilian groove masters Portinho on drums and Itaiguara on Bass...Itaiguara makes the track breath and groove organically."
" Portinho and Itaiguara take on their rhythm section duties in a relaxed manner... They take their time and flow together as one highly synchronized, living, breathing unit, reveling in the sheer earthiness of the groove along the way"
Bill Milkowski - a contributor to Jazziz, Jazz Times, Modern Drummer and Bass Player magazines. He is also the author of JACO: The Extraordinary and Tragic Life of Jaco Pastorius (Backbeat Books)
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- PROJECTS -
Cadence trio - with Portinho on drums and Helio Alves on piano
Brasil & Co. - with Vera Mara on vocals, Paul Meyers on guitar and
Chris Eddleton on drums
Bate-Bola - with Oriente Lopez on piano and Paulo Braga on drums
Paulo Braga Band - with Paulo Braga on drums, Helio Alves on piano
and Eli Degibre on tenor/soprano
Section 8 - with Klaus Mueller on piano, Matt Kane on drums and
Jake Blanton on guitar
Brazilian Experience - with Florian Poser on vibes, Gustavo Bergalli
on trumpet, Dario Eskenazi on piano and
Portinho on drums
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DISCOGRAPHY
Cadence Trio, feat Randy Brecker - "Yatrata" - Clave-bop
Oriente Lopez, feat Paquito de Rivera - "Live at Kean University"
Sublimes, feat Michael Brecker - "Sublimes" - SONY Music
Cidinho Teixeira and friends - "Live at Zinc Bar"
Nelson Faria - "Inside the Brazilian Rhythm Section" - Book and 2 CD's
Sher Music Co.
Florian Poser - "New Adventures"
Martin Mueller - "Progresso"
Loli Marquez-Sterling - "loli but not alone" *SIEGELS CD of the month
Brasil & Co. - "Brasil & Co."
Ana Lu - "Guerreira"
Suzy Schwartz - "Vento"
Vanderlei Pereira - "Live at the Kennedy Center"
Weber Iago - "O primeiro dia"
Juliana Aquino - "Elegia" - BMG
Bambule - "Mas que la Fuerza"
Shodjah - "Shodjah"
Nega Rosa - "Brasilian lovers reggae" - LUX
Conexao Brasil - "Timbaleiros"
Roberto Trevisan - "Superman"
Deborah Aviles - "Deborah Aviles"
Mauro Tatini - "Vocal Samples"
Alesh DuCarmo - "Mysticus"
Walder Clemente - "Walder"
(CLOSE WINDOW TO RETURN) - (click HERE for my resume in PDF format)