THE SHOWROOM SESSIONS: Streaming LIVE from Piedmont Piano Company
Ricardo Peixoto, Claudia Villela, and Marcos Silva
This trio of Rio de Janeiro expatriates and current Bay Area residents reunites guitarist Ricardo Peixoto with long time collaborators vocalist Claudia Villela and pianist Marcos Silva. The concert will feature original music from their many recordings, as well as recent compositions and Brazilian classics. Their music draws from the best of Brazilian music combined with the spontaneity and creativity of jazz.
Watch the LIVE STREAM on youtube or facebook
Donations/tips accepted via Venmo @Ricardo-Peixoto-1 or paypal.me/RPeixotoMusic
Vocalist and composer Claudia Villela’s talent for musical exploration knows no limits. Born and raised in Rio de Janeiro, she absorbed the sounds of Brazil all around her, as well as influences of music from all over the world. Based in the Santa Cruz area since the mid-1980s, Villela has evolved into an expressive pianist and percussionist and an ingenious composer and lyricist with an astonishing body of original material, as well as a repertoire of jewels from the Brazilian songbook. She sings mostly in Portuguese, interpreting lyrics with keen emotional insight and supple rhythmic command, and is a supremely inventive scat singer, with a vivid vocabulary of sounds. Claudia’s many recordings and perfomances have included collaborations with Kenny Werner, Toninho Horta, Romero Lubambo, Guinga, Chico Pinheiro, Dori Caymmi, Toots Thielemans, Michael Brecker and clarinetist Anat Cohen. claudiavillela.com
Pianist, composer, arranger, producer and educator Marcos Silva performs worldwide. Nominated for two Grammys, he toured with many artists, including Paquito D’Rivera, Bud Shank, Claudio Roditi, Raul de Souza, Toninho Horta, Leny Andrade, Edu Lobo, Emilio Santiago, Dori Caymmi and many more. Marcos was musical director for Flora Purim and Airto Moreira for 24 years. He wrote arrangements for Dizzy Gillespie’s band and replaced Gil Evans as composer-arranger of Airto’s Spiritual Mass with a 63 piece orchestra in Germany. He is sought after as a producer of CDs, including three of his own. Marcos heads the Brazilian Music Department at the California Jazz Conservatory in Berkeley. marcossilva.com
Originally from Rio de Janeiro and based in the Bay Area, guitarist, composer and educator Ricardo Peixoto is among the top representatives of Brazilian guitar in the US. His performances explore Brazil’s rich and diverse traditions. While grounded both in jazz and Brazilian sources, his music always ventures well beyond their borders, combining rich melodies, sophisticated harmonies, and the unmistakable rhythms of Brazil. He has recorded, performed, and collaborated with, Flora Purim and Airto, saxophonist Bud Shank, percussionist Dom Um Romão, Toots Thielemans, Paul McCandless, Claudio Roditi, Dori Caymmi, Guinga and Terra Sul. He has performed throughout the US, Europe, Canada, Japan and Brazil. His recent CD, “Scary Beautiful”(2019), featuring all original compositions for jazz ensemble, has earned him acclaim internationally, with several outstanding reviews. He currently teaches at the California Jazz Conservatory. ricardopeixoto.com