Music Style Brazilian/World

Musical Influences Elis Regina, Billie Holiday, Janis Joplin...

Artist History K�tia Moraes & Sambaguru is an ensemble of 6 musicians from Brazil, India, Sri Lanka, and the United States that has been playing a wide-ranging blend of original music since 1997. Their rich and extensive repertoire arises from the huge diversity in appr oaches and techniques that distinguish the personal and regional backgrounds of each band member. It is a vibrant band that has its own stylistic inner tensions among these players from widely separated areas of the globe unite a remarkable depth and qual ity. Sambaguru’s debut CD Ginga is a cross-pollination of distinct styles and musical innovation. K�tia Moraes & Sambaguru has played at House of Blues, John Anson Ford Amphitheater, Getty Center, Playboy Jazz SummerFest, Jazz Bakery, Luna Park, The Worl d Famous Baked Potato, Santa Monica Festival, The French Quarter Festival in New Orleans, Riverside Jazz Festival, African Market Place, Grass Valley World Music Festival, IAJE- Jazz Educators Convention, among other events and venues. In 1998 K�tia Morae s & Bill Brendle had their composition “N�o V�” chosen as a finalist in the World Music category of the John Lennon’s Songwriting Contest. K�tia Moraes & Sambaguru is featured on the musical score for the film “Woman On Top”, a Fox Searchlight Picture released in September 2000. In 2001 the group was nominated in the best World Music category for the New Times Newspaper Music Awards. The artists were selected to be on The California Arts Council Touring Roster 2002-2003.

Group Members K�tia Moraes -vocals, Bill Brendle - keys, Hussain Jiffry - bass, Tony Shogren - drums, Sanjay Divecha - guitar, and Kevin Ricard - percussion.1

Albums O Esp�rito da Coisa, Ten Feet and The Sun and Ginga.

Press Reviews LOS ANGELES TIMES Monday, December 18, 2001 Jazz review by Don Heckman Moraes Offers Musical Magic of Brazil The Singer, backed by her quintet, performs a wide range of styles with exuberance and whimsy. Brazil may possess a more diverse array of music t han any other single country in the world . The only comparable collective that comes to mind is the range of American styles stretching from bluegrass, Cajun, blues and swing to the seemingly endless multiplicity of jazz expressions. So, when Brazil’s sa mba, pagode, forr�, bossa nova and maracatu collide creatively with American jazz -as they did in the performance by singer K�tia Moraes and her group Sambaguru on Saturday night at La Ve Lee in Studio City, sparks can be expected to fly. Which is precise ly what happened in a pair of sets embracing a range of Brazilian styles too rarely heard in the Southland. Moraes and her quintet, led by keyboardist-musical director Bill Brendle, have been together nearly a decade, strenuously making a case for the as sertion that the magic of Brazilian music reaches well beyond the more frequently heard (and seen) Las Vegas-style feathers-and-glitter samba presentations. Confirming that, Moraes- a galvanizing presence, constantly in motion, joyously enmeshed in the mu sic- clearly needed no elaborate costumes to enhance the attention grabbing qualities of her performance. Several of the tunes were Moraes-Brendle collaborations from Sambaguru’s current album, “Ginga,” songs as such as “Pesca das Mui�,” “Pra tocar Pandei ro” and “Gruve da bicicleta,” combining Brendle’s engaging melodies with Moraes’s lyrical mix of whimsy and insight. More familiar numbers- Antonio Carlos Jobim’s “Chega de Saudade” was one- also surfaced from time to time. Like everything else in the pr ogram, they were rendered with effervescent enthusiasm by Moraes and the players, their effectiveness further enhanced by the well crafted arrangements framing each number. The ensemble- guitar Sanjay Divecha, bassist Hussain Jiffry, drummer Tony Shogren and percussionist Chalo Eduardo (subbing for Sambaguru’s regular percussionist Kevin Ricard), in the addition to Brendle- fully matched Moraes’ energetic drive. Together, they opened a wide and colorful window into a world of irresistible compelling musi c. Moraes and Sambaguru will perform in the International Association of Jazz Educators Convention in Long Beach in January 10, returning to La Ve Lee for a performance January 12. Entertainment Today June, 2001 K�tia Moraes & Sambaguru La Ve Lee Saturday, June 9 I recently caught this Brazilian dynamo and her band for the first time a few weeks ago when they filled in for a Cuban act with visa problems at Pasaden’s Playboy Jazz Sum merFest, and I was totally blown away. It was a case of being familiar with a band’s name from seeing it listed all the time, but neverhaving had the chance to be in the right place at the right time to catch them. Happily, that has now been taken care. V ocalist K�tia Moraes began her singing career in Rio de Janeiro in the 1’80s, fronting a band called ‘O Esp�rito da Coisa.’ Since then, she has recorded and toured with the likes of S�rgio Mendes, Rita Lee and Banda Cheiro de Amor, and in 1990 she moved h ere to Los Angeles. Since that time, Rio’s loss has been LA’s gain, and the exchange rate is definitely weighted in our favor. Blessed with a songbird’s voice, a poet’s heart, an educator’s enthusiasm and an entertainer’s vision, Moraes is the complete pa ckage. If you think that Brazilian music begins and ends with Jobim and sambas, you will be taught the truth by this winsome ambassador. Just like any land, a multitute of styles and rhythms abound in the music of Brazil, and Moraes is fluent in all of th em. Her quintet, Sambaguru, features musicians from the U.S., India and Sri Lanka; interestingly, she is the only Brazilian, yet the band manages to take listeners to Carnaval every time out, while at the same time infusing the rhythms with their own expe riences and roots to create a totally unique sound that is the epi tome of world music. Believe me, it shows. They have a wonderful CD, Ginga, released in 1999, which is an accurate portrait of the band, full of Moraes’s original tunes that belong on the s ame shelf as those by Gilberto Gil or any other modern day Brazil ian composer. But it is in the live arena, such as this tiny Studio City club, where this band truly comes alive. After all, the music of Brazil is drenched in life and celebration, and Samb aguru will have the infirm up and dancing in no time. If it is t rue that music can heal, then go ahead and give Moraes and crew the Nobel Prize. L.A. Jazz Scene, June, 2001 K�tia Moraes- A Guru of Samba and Poetry\"K�tia Moraes & Sambaguru put on a tremendous show for a huge audience at the Playboy Jazz Fest in Pasa dena. K�tia made every moment on stage count. She danced around the stage, swirling her hips,flirted with the audience and hadthe crowd clapping and dancing. It was so great to see the sheer joy from musicians and audience alike."New Times, December, 1999 Stunning K�tia Moraes and Sambaguru Ginga Sugarcane Records In the labyrinthine wor ld of human emotions, few relantioships are as delicate and complex as the onebetween father and daughter. During the first five years in the life of a baby girl, a father acts as a major catalyst by defining the way she will relate to men as an adult. If he fails to be emotionally present during these crucial years, the pain caused by his absence will haunt t he daughter for the rest of her life.Singer-songwriter K�tia Mo raes must know a thing or two about absent fathers. Otherwise, she could never have w ritten the lyrics to "Pai", the closing track of her brand-new album with the ensemble Sambaguru. The song offers a sublime coupling of nostalgic melody and meaningful lyric. It might even break your heart.Throughout the remaining 12 cuts of Ginga, Moraes reveals herself as one of the most important Latin artists living and working in the United States today. One can only speculate what might have happened to her career had she stayed in her native Brazil, although it?s not hard to imagine her as a big s tar in her homeland. The opening "Pesca das Mui�" rapidly fulfills all the expectations any well-educated gringo might harbor about Brazilian sounds - it?s frothy, infe ctious, and rhytmically chalenging. The breathtaking "Estrelinha", on the other hand, is a lilting, velvety duet with pianist Bill Brendle that matches the grandeur of anything written by Milt on Nascimento. Interestingly, Moraes bypasses the bossa nova s ound altogether. Instead, her sensibility is firmly planted in the late ?60s Tropicalia movement, bringing back a time when musical titans such as Gilberto Gil, Gal Costa, and Caetano Veloso we re at the peak of their powers.K�tia Moraes should not be ign ored. Moraes? passionately sensuous lyrics will send you running in search of a English-P ortuguese dictionary. She?s stunning. Ignore Ginga at your own risk, and loss.K�tia Moraes at La Ve LeeK�tia Moraes is a small, compact woman but on stage she?s pure dynamite. Her small frame moves constantly as she sings the Brazilian tunes she become kn own for. The music is so infectious, so lively that it doesn?t matter that some in her audiences don?t know Portuguese and have no idea what she?s singing about.Ble ssed with a powerful backing group, Moraes is free to set the mood and fly freely. Her mult i-cultural musicians bring their own flair to the mix and include: Hussain Jiffry-bass, Kevin Ricard-p ercussion, Sanjay Divecha-guitar, Tony Shogren-drums and Bil l Brendle-keyboards.Moraes is a regular at La Ve Lee and on a recent Saturday she was even mo re excited and personable because she was celebrating the release of a new CD, Ginga. The audience wa s in a happy mood as well. Moraes opened the show with a li vely "Pesca das Mui�" and immediately signaled that this was going to be a fun night. Moraes si ngs in a clear and powerful voice; she fills the small confines of the club easily. She followed wit h "Maria do Medo", another upbeat tune, with her musicians singing backup. A very funky "Acredite ou n�o" continued to generate a high level of energy. Wit h her movements hampered by the tiny stage area, Moraes managed to make the most of the tune and sh e sang and danced. Ricard delivered a blast of rhythm. "G inga" means swing and after a sweet beginning it built in intensity. "Pra Tocar Pandeiro" was tailo r made for this feitsy group. A pandeiro is like a tambourine and several of the musicians held on e as they pounded out a swinging and melodic beat. Moraes was doing tunes associated with various regions of Brazil so in effect, she was giving her audience a primer on the scope of Brazilian music. The differences from tune to tune were fascinating. Mo raes did a wonderful bossa nova tune, "Tonto". "Gruve" was simply terrific, with an intoxicating undercurrent. The musicians were perfect for Moraes dynamic delivery. They can?t be praised enough and throughout the show each got a chance to show individual skills and personality.The show ended with a powerful tune that included a drum duet between Shogren and Ricard. Moraes displays all the best instincts for a performer; she has a warm and friendly personality, she loves her material and wants very much to convey it to the audience. She is more than ready for a bigger audience. She?d be perfect at a big festival setting because very simply, she connects well. At the set came to an end I discovered one secret to Moraes? energy--she performs barefoot!Go se e her and her amazing musicians and you?ll be cheered for days.(For L.A.Jazz Scene, 1999)≈�

Additional Info To buy Cds by mail, please send a check of $17.00 in name of K�tia Moraes to P.O.Box 2315, Toluca Lake, CA 91610

Location Los Angeles, California - USA

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