Zurich Jam Session 6-24 | 29 September 2024
Balakumbala Duo feat. Viviane de Farias (vocals), Mauro Martins (e-bass), and special guest Leandro Irarragorri
A big thank you to Mauro, Viviane, and Leandro for bringing their incredible energy and artistry to the Zurich Jam Session. Their live performance was nothing short of spectacular, and it was a true privilege to witness such a marvelous display of creativity and passion!
Featuring:
The daring combination of voice and bass has rarely been undertaken in Brazilian music. Although there are so many excellent singers and also a host of highly skilled bass players, this unusual teaming up is rarely to be found. Viviane de Farias and Mauro Martins have not only accepted the challenge – they have come up with an innovative duo performance.
Balakumbala is a vivid, tongue-in-cheek play on words so significant in Brazilian culture. The word comes from a well-known song by João Bosco and Aldir Blanc, where the speaker tells of visiting the cinema and enjoying himself while the heroes on the screen get into a duel. They start to fight bullet for bullet (bala com bala), then knife for knife, fist for fist and then eventually they measure their strength with words.
Balakumbala is a breathtaking tête-à-tête, which adds to contemporary Brazilian music a thoroughly new and captivating perspective, stripped down to the extraordinary talent and ingenuity of two people. (...) – Stefan Franzen
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Lineup:
Viviane de Farias
Vocals
Singer Viviane de Farias has roots in the Indio culture of the Northern state of Ceará but also in Rio’s famous barrio Ipanema. She grew up in Brazil and Los Angeles, developed her acting and singing talents in Rio and Chicago, and dedicated herself to chanson, jazz and – at an early phase of her career – particularly to opera. But soon her Brazilian roots gained more importance in her artistic life as she immersed herself in samba, chôro and bossa nova and the huge repertoire of the Música Popular, with renowned composers such as Ivan Lins, Chico Buarque, Tom Jobim and Guinga. On her last In & Out album Moment Of Passion (IOR CD 77088-2) she already proved that she can put together a programme of bossa, jazz and songwriting in a most flexible, delicate and energy-driven way. Brazil’s most important newspaper, O Globo, heralded her as “one of the big hopes for innovation” in the country’s music. – Stefan Franzen
Mauro Martins
E-Bass
Bassist and drummer Mauro Martins comes from the southern city of Curitiba and took up guitar and percussion at the early age of six. A European resident for many years, like Viviane, he has participated in many different musical worlds. He is a highly sought-after session man, arranger and composer, and he has collaborated with first class pop and jazz musicians, such as Phil Collins, Tania Maria, Richard Galliano und Chico César. From Montreux to New York’s Blue Note and Birdland, he has played at festivals and clubs all over the world. His speciality is a funk- and jazz-driven playing on the six-string electric bass, uniting incredible virtuosity with an intriguing melodic quality. – Stefan Franzen