Itaiguara Mariano Brandão (born October 31, 1968) is a New York City-based recording artist and

bassist A bassist (also known as a bass player or bass guitarist) is a musician who plays a Bass (instrument), bass instrument such as a double bass (upright bass, contrabass, wood bass), bass guitar (electric bass, acoustic bass), synthbass, keyboar ...

. A native of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Brandão has toured internationally and recorded extensively with a wide range of Latin and World Music artists such as: Dianne Reeves, Ivan Lins, Marcos Valle, Toquinho, Carlos Lyra, Roberto Menescal,

Leny Andrade Leny de Andrade Lima, known professionally as Leny Andrade, was born in Rio de Janeiro, on January 26, 1943, and is a Brazilian singer and musician. Both Andrade's first and last names are sometimes misspelled in English as "Lenn", "Leni", and "A ...

, Joyce (singer), Paulo Braga, Randy Brecker,

Dom Salvador Dom Salvador, (born 1938 in Rio Claro) stage name of Salvador da Silva Filho, is a Brazilian jazz/ MPB pianist most notable for his Rio 65 Trio that featured the Brazilian jazz drummer Edison Machado and bassist Sergio Barrozo. He also did tours ...

, Paquito D'Rivera,

Claudio Roditi Claudio Roditi (May 28, 1946 – January 17, 2020) was a Brazilian jazz trumpeter. In 1966 Claudio was named a trumpet finalist at the International Jazz Competition in Vienna, Austria. While in Vienna, Roditi met Art Farmer, one of his idols, ...

Robin Eubanks Robin Eubanks (born October 25, 1955) is an American jazz and jazz fusion slide trombonist, the brother of guitarist Kevin Eubanks and trumpeter Duane Eubanks. His uncles are jazz pianist Ray Bryant and bassist Tommy Bryant. His mother, Vera Eub ...

Jovino Santos-Neto Jovino Santos Neto (born September 18, 1954) is a Seattle-based Brazilian-American jazz pianist, flutist, composer, arranger, educator and record producer. Career Jovino Santos Neto started playing piano at age 13 and by 16 was playing keyboard ...

Emílio Santiago Emílio Vitalino Santiago (6 December 1946 – 20 March 2013), known as Emílio Santiago, was a Brazilian singer. Biography Early years Attending college at Federal University of Rio de Janeiro Law School in the 1970s, where he graduated ...

Elba Ramalho Elba Ramalho (born August 17, 1951, in Conceição, Paraíba) is a Brazilian songwriter, performer, poet and actress. She is sometimes called "The Queen of Forró". In addition to her successful solo career, Elba has collaborated with a number ...

Guilherme Arantes Guilherme Arantes () is a Brazilian singer-songwriter and pianist. He is Steinway Artist. As a teenager, he was a member of the band Os Polissonantes, which also featured Brazilian actor Kadu Moliterno on bass guitar. In 1969, Arantes started t ...

, Romero Lubambo,

Léo Gandelman Léo Gandelman (born Leonardo Gandelman; August 10, 1956, in Rio de Janeiro) is a Brazilian saxophonist, composer and producer. He has played with Lulu Santos, and guest appeared in Titãs' single "Televisão (song), Televisão". He is also known ...

among many others. He has recorded on major labels and played on the

22nd Annual Latin Grammy Awards The 22nd Annual Latin Grammy Awards was held on Thursday, November 18, 2021, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas to honour the best musical releases within Latin music released from June 1, 2020, to May 31, 2021. The nominations were announce ...

winning album Ancestras by Petrona Martinez. Brandão has been one of the most sought-after Brazilian bassists in the

Northeast The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each se ...

and

freelance ''Freelance'' (sometimes spelled ''free-lance'' or ''free lance''), ''freelancer'', or ''freelance worker'', are terms commonly used for a person who is self-employed and not necessarily committed to a particular employer long-term. Freelance w ...

musicians in the United States, having completed nearly 7,500

performance A performance is an act of staging or presenting a play, concert, or other form of entertainment. It is also defined as the action or process of carrying out or accomplishing an action, task, or function. Management science In the work place ...

s in the past 30 years.

Life and Work

A product of musical influences as diverse as traditional

samba Samba (), also known as samba urbano carioca (''urban Carioca samba'') or simply samba carioca (''Carioca samba''), is a Brazilian music genre that originated in the Afro-Brazilian communities of Rio de Janeiro in the early 20th century. Havin ...

, progressive rock ''(

Yes Yes or YES may refer to: * An affirmative particle in the English language; see yes and no Education * YES Prep Public Schools, Houston, Texas, US * YES (Your Extraordinary Saturday), a learning program from the Minnesota Institute for Talente ...

Rush Rush(es) may refer to: Places United States * Rush, Colorado * Rush, Kentucky * Rush, New York * Rush City, Minnesota * Rush Creek (Kishwaukee River tributary), Illinois * Rush Creek (Marin County, California), a stream * Rush Creek (Mono Cou ...

)'', flamenco ''( Paco de Lucía)'' jazz ''( John Coltrane,

Branford Marsalis Branford Marsalis (born August 26, 1960) is an American saxophonist The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed inst ...

Herbie Hancock Herbert Jeffrey Hancock (born April 12, 1940) is an American jazz pianist, keyboardist, bandleader, and composer. Hancock started his career with trumpeter Donald Byrd's group. He shortly thereafter joined the Miles Davis Quintet, where he help ...

)'' and

pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop!, a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Albums * ''Pop'' (G ...

, Brandão's upbringing was steeped in a rich musical fabric. He began studying piano and

music theory Music theory is the study of the practices and possibilities of music. ''The Oxford Companion to Music'' describes three interrelated uses of the term "music theory". The first is the "rudiments", that are needed to understand music notation (ke ...

at the age of 7 and by age 13 he was playing classical,

chorinho ''Choro'' (, "cry" or "lament"), also popularly called ''chorinho'' ("little cry" or "little lament"), is an instrumental Brazilian popular music genre which originated in 19th century Rio de Janeiro. Despite its name, the music often has a ...

and other Brazilian styles on

classical guitar The classical guitar (also known as the nylon-string guitar or Spanish guitar) is a member of the guitar family used in classical music and other styles. An acoustic wooden string instrument with strings made of gut or nylon, it is a precursor o ...

and electric bass. He made his professional debut performance in Rio at the age of 15. Itaiguara Brandão attended

Berklee College of Music Berklee College of Music is a private music college in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world. Known for the study of jazz and modern American music, it also offers college-level cours ...

in Boston, MA and studied jazz improvisation with the legendary

Charlie Banacos Charlie Banacos (August 11, 1946 – December 8, 2009) was an American pianist, composer, author and educator, concentrating on jazz. Banacos created over 100 courses of study for improvisation and composition. His concepts of teaching and his cour ...

and arranging with

Mike Longo Michael Josef Longo (March 19, 1937 – March 22, 2020) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and author. Early life Longo was born in Cincinnati, Ohio to parents who had a musical background. His father played bass, his mother played organ at c ...

( Dizzy Gillespie's

music director A music(al) director or director of music is the person responsible for the musical aspects of a performance, production, or organization. This would include the artistic director and usually chief conductor of an orchestra or concert band, the d ...

for 9 years). He was awarded a Berklee Achievement Scholarship for musical excellence in 1995 and graduated

summa cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some Sou ...

in 1997. Brandão also holds a degree in Telecommunications Engineering from Pontifícia Universidade Católica (PUC) in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (1991). Itaiguara has played on major venues such as the Nobel Peace Prize concert in Oslo, the Grand Hall of the Moscow Conservatory with the Moscow Symphony Orchestra, the Teatro Real in Madrid, and the

Sydney Opera House The Sydney Opera House is a multi-venue performing arts centre in Sydney. Located on the foreshore of Sydney Harbour, it is widely regarded as one of the world's most famous and distinctive buildings and a masterpiece of 20th-century architec ...

in Australia. Brandão is a contributor to the educational book/CD "Inside the Brazilian Rhythm Section," by

Nelson Faria Nelson Faria (born March 23, 1963) is a Brazilian guitarist. Career At the Guitar Institute of Technology in California, his teachers included Joe Diorio, Frank Gambale, Ted Greene, Scott Henderson, and Joe Pass. On television he performed with ...

/Cliff Korman - a guide for bassists, guitarists, pianists and drummers on the eight most dominant styles of Brazilian music: samba, bossa nova, partido alto, choro, baiao, frevo, marcha-rancho and afoxé. (Publisher: Sher Music, 2005) Itaiguara has a masters degree in Jazz Composition from

Aaron Copland School of Music The Aaron Copland School of Music is one of the oldest departments at Queens College, founded when the College opened in 1937. The department's curriculum was originally established by Edwin Stringham, and a later emphasis on the analytical sys ...

(Queens College, New York) and received the

Marvin Hamlisch Marvin Frederick Hamlisch (June 2, 1944 – August 6, 2012) was an American composer and conductor. Hamlisch was one of only seventeen people to win Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony awards. This collection of all four is referred to as an " EGOT ...

Award in 2019. Itaiguara Brandão served as musical director for the Paulo Braga Band from 1999 to 2003. The creator, Paulo Braga, is known as the father of Brazilian drums. Braga played with Antonio Carlos Jobim for fifteen years and is currently part of The Jobim Trio. Brandão was awarded a permanent resident visa issued by the US government to foreign artists with extraordinary abilities. The name Itaiguara e-tahy-gwahr-uhhas its roots in an indigenous dialect of Brazil and roughly translates to "water that flows from the stone."

Selected discography

1996 Bambule - Mas Que La Fuerza 1997 Sublimes - Sublimes 1998 AnaLu - Guerreira 2000 Vera Mara and Paul Meyers - Brasil & Company 2001

and Cliff Korman - Inside The Brazilian Rhythm Section 2002 Suzy Schwartz - Vento 2003 Helio Alves and Cadence Trio - Yatrata 2004 Cidinho Teixeira and Friends - Live At Zinc Bar 2006 Susan Pereira and Sabor Brasil - Tudo Azul 2006
Florian Poser
s Brazilian Experience - Live In Berlin 2007 Vera Mara/Cidinho Teixeira - Luz Maior 2007 Vanderlei Pereira - Live At Zinc Bar 2008 Portinho Trio - Vinho Do Porto 2008 Gina and The Hahas - You Are The Lady 2009 Yoham Ortiz - Yoham Ortiz Concept 2009 Be - Mistura Natural 2009 Yuko Ito - Mania de Voce 2009 Mauricio Zottarelli - 7 Lives 2010 Oriente Lopez - Aguas Profundas 2010

- The Art Of Samba Jazz 2011 Eliano Braz - Eliano Braz and Rabeca do Forro 2011 Greta Panettieri - Brazilian Nights (Live at ZincBar) 2014 Antonio Adolfo - Copa Village 2015 Itaiguara - Awakening 2016 Oriente Lopez - Abracadabra 2017 Matt King - Monk in Brazil 2021 Romero Lubambo and Rafael Piccolotto Chamber Orchestra - Live at Dizzy's 2021 Petrona Martinez - Ancestras

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brandao, Itaiguara 1968 births Living people Brazilian male guitarists Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro alumni