Viva Brasil! Bossa Nova Night w/ Marcos Ariel

To mark our 20th anniversary, Viva Brasil! expands to a weekend celebration of Brazilian culture! Tonight we celebrate the sound of sunshine! In Brazil, the word bossa is old-fashioned slang for something done with particular charm, natural flair, or innate ability. When it comes to Brazilian music, the first song that might come to mind is “The Girl From Ipanema” penned by songwriter Antônio Carlos Jobim and performed by singer Astrud Gilberto, guitarist João Gilberto, and saxophonist Stan Getz. That song is a flagship in the Brazilian genre bossa nova, which translates to “new style” or “new trend.” It emerged in the 1950s and 60s combining elements of samba—a popular music genre in Brazil—with American jazz traditions. We celebrate the great legacy of bossa nova this evening, with a debut performance of renowned Brazilian pianist, Marcos Ariel.

Artist Bio
Since the 1970s, Marcos Ariel has dedicated himself to Brazilian instrumental music and jazz, reaching international status throughout the next decade. Ariel studied classical music in his childhood and later took an interest in jazz, including greats like Hermeto Pascoal and Chick Corea. He formed his first band, Grupo Usina, in 1978. His debut album, Bambu, was released in Brazil and France. In Brazil, it was awarded with the Chiquinha Gonzaga prize in 1983. In 1986, Ariel participated in São Paulo’s Free Jazz Festival, and in the next year, along with his participation in Rio’s edition of the same festival, he recorded the memorable Banda Zil with Ricardo Silveira, Zé Renato, and others. But it was Terra do Índio (1988) that projected him in the U.S., a country in which Ariel has been performing regularly ever since.

Nascido em fevereiro durante o Carnaval do Rio, Marcos Ariel tem a típica alma carioca. Esse fato foi fundamental para sua formação profissional: o estilo do músico sempre foi definido pelos críticos como “puramente carioca”. A partir disso, Marcos Ariel teve a ideia para a gravação de seu trigésimo disco, o EP Soul Carioca, um projeto que contou com o apoio de colaboradores através da plataforma Embolacha.