Rutger Mathys

Born: April 14, 2000

The Belgian-Dutch jazz scene hails Rutger Mathys as one of today’s most promising talents. A master of the chromatic harmonica, Rutger graduated Cum Laude in 2024 from the jazz department of the Conservatory of Rotterdam. He has performed with legends such as Philip Catherine and Bert Joris, played at major festivals like the Gent-, Brussels-, and North Sea Jazz Festivals, and won several prestigious awards, including the Toots Thielemans Challenge in 2022 and the Dinant Jazz Contest in 2023. In 2024, he was selected as one of the "Twintigers" by the Belgian radio station Klara, where his music is frequently featured

Darin Layne

Born: March 5, 1972

Darin Layne is an Austin-based guitarist and composer known for his high-level playing, composing, recording, engineering and producing abilities. 

Darin’s prior albums, including D Shack (2021), Stringology (2017), Poison Flower (2015) and Left of Sunday Afternoon (2009) and ongoing performances in several genres, have made him an Austin favorite, and drawn international attention. A stellar sideman and producer, Darin has worked with some of the biggest names and talent in the music industry.

Darin has completed nine of his own albums, and played as a studio musician on hundreds of other albums. He’s performed in countless shows. He has been featured in magazines such as Guitar Player, JazzTimes, and All About Jazz.. As a top-call session guitarist in Austin, he plays Jazz, Folk, Blues, Latin, Funk, Rock, Classical and Brazilian Choro around the world.

Andrew Woolf

Born: January 9, 1982

Andrew Woolf is a saxophone and clarinet player known for his versatility across a diverse range of styles, his sensitive musicianship, and his distinctive and expressive instrumental voice. Admired for his melodic and restrained approach as a jazz player, he is also now recognised as a leading exponent of choro in the UK, alongside his performances in a variety of settings, crossing between modern jazz (London Vocal Project, The Button Band), Brazilian music (Alvorada, Choro Matiz), experimental improvisation (Madwort Saxophone Quartet), burning Afrobeat (Afrik Bawantu) and more. This breadth of experience and interest finds a unified voice in his output as a band leader and composer

Abdallah Harati

Born: August 3, 1974

Born in S?o Paulo, Brazil, Abdallah Harati grew up in S?o Jos�� dos Campos and since 2015, is established in Munich, Germany. At home, there wasn��t a single day that passed without the radio on or his mom singing. With his grandparents addicted to the traditional Brazilian music, he couldn��t escape. Uncles and cousins, some amateurs, other professional musicians, music quality was always a must. He started learning music since childhood. Flute, piano and finally the guitar. He has completed classical guitar studies, however the home influence of Choro, Seresta and Samba was very strong

Tulio Araujo

Born: November 22, 1978

Imagine a Pandeiro, absent of drums. Strong thumbs mark the low notes, slaps plays the snare and jingles moving like a cymbal. Welcome to Tulio Araujo's world.

Tulio is a Brazilian musician, carrying advanced degrees and experience in the fields of Percussion, Music Production and Sound Engineering. He has studied with renowned masters Ian Guest (Hungary), Santiago Reyther (Cuba), Marcos Suzano (Brazil). Through his experimentation and study, he dreamt and effectively conceived a way to merge his main instrument with the improvisation universe that Jazz provides.

Rodrigo Simoes

Born: January 5, 1979

Rodrigo Simões is a Brazilian composer with a distinctive style that oscillates between Brazilian music and jazz improvisation. His international career has taken him through China, South Korea, Australia, Paraguay and the United States, in addition to his native country – Brazil – and his adopted country – Canada. The guitarist has already collaborated with great artists in Brazil (Elza Soares, Carlos Malta, Paulinho da Viola, Dominguinhos, Zeca Baleiro and Paulo Moska) and in Canada (Bill McBirnie, Joel Miller, Flavia Nascimento, Sienna Dahlen, Alex Lefaivre, Sonia Jonhson, Carl Mayotte, Mark Nelson and Jean-Pierre Zanella)

Julia Bomfim

Born: April 17, 1991

Born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Julia Bomfim is an exceptional violinist based in Boston, MA.?Her unique style combines Classical music and Brazilian music with other South American flavors. Half Argentinian from her mother side and half Brazilian, Julia's energetic and versatile playing have ensured her place in these various musical genres. Born into a family of artists, Julia began her music studies at the age of seven. Inspired and encouraged by her father, the renowned flutist Marcelo Bomfim, the violin became the focal point of her early childhood.? In 2013, she graduated from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UNIRIO) with a Bachelor of Music degree

Ami Molinelli, Rog��rio Souza, Edinho Gerber Come Together As Duo Viol?o + 1 On New Album, A History Of Choro, To Be Released On March 8

February 11, 2019

On A History of Choro, their first recorded collaboration, guitarist Rog��rio Souza, guitarist Edinho Gerber, and percussionist Ami Molinelli survey the musical history and evolution of choro, revealing its rhythmic and harmonic permutations and, in the process, create an album that is coherent in timbre and vision while marvelously varied in its nuances. According to Molinelli, ...

Rebecca Hass

Born: 1983

Rebecca Hass is a pianist and composer in the San Francisco Bay Area whose work has “a witty sensibility, lyricism, and joy.” Her debut Brazilian album, Florescer (Bloom), was described as “thoughtful as it is clever and original” and “a delightful 43 minutes of musical sunshine”, and includes guests Tim O’Keefe, Jenny Klukken, and Laura Harada. 

Her new album of original piano music, Bright Little Worlds, is an imaginative, heart-filled collection of 22 compositions in various styles (Brazilian, jazz, impressionistic, neo-classical, and more) and is arranged in a hero’s journey-style narrative trajectory where each one is its own character or little world - something for every mood. It features guest musicians Debbie Gold (flute) and Brian Rice (pandeiro), and is inspired by influences as diverse as Hermeto Pascoal, Laercio de Freitas, Claude Debussy, Aaron Copland, Vince Guaraldi, and Thelonious Monk.

Mark Duggan

Born: May 25, 1961

A versatile performer and composer, Mark Duggan has been active in multiple musical genres for over 40 years. Based in Toronto, Canada, Duggan's passionate blend of contemporary percussion idioms has impressed audiences worldwide, ranging from the Tongyeong Music Festival in Korea and Lincoln Center in New York, to the Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland. Duggan has performed with many jazz and popular music artists including Diana Krall, Charlie Haden, Maria Schneider, Petula Clark, Kiran Ahluwalia, Maryem Tollar, Andy Stochansky, Nelly Furtado, Oliver Schroer, Don Ross, Kevin Barrett, Rufus Wainwright and for ten years, performed and recorded extensively with his own group, Vuja d��