Eduardo "Ed" Motta (; born August 17, 1971) is a Brazilian MPB, rock,

soul The soul is the purported Mind–body dualism, immaterial aspect or essence of a Outline of life forms, living being. It is typically believed to be Immortality, immortal and to exist apart from the material world. The three main theories that ...

funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African-American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African-Americans in the ...

and

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

musician. He is the nephew of late singer-songwriter Tim Maia.

Career

Son of Luzia Motta (sister of Tim Maia) and Antonio Motta, Ed Motta listened to

disco Disco is a music genre, genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the late 1960s from the United States' urban nightclub, nightlife, particularly in African Americans, African-American, Italian-Americans, Italian-American, LGBTQ ...

and

from an early age. He became a fan of rock music as a teenager. His musical career started as vocalist of the hard rock band Kabbalah. After hearing

Jeff Beck Geoffrey Arnold Beck (24 June 1944 – 10 January 2023) was an English musician. He rose to prominence as the guitarist of the rock band the Yardbirds, and afterwards founded and fronted the Jeff Beck Group and Beck, Bogert & Appice. In 1975, ...

's album "

Blow by Blow ''Blow by Blow'' is Jeff Beck's first album credited to him as a solo artist. It was recorded in October 1974 and released via Epic Records in 1975. An instrumental album, it peaked at No. 4 on the American ''Billboard'' 200 and was certifi ...

", he realized that the British guitarist had soul and funk influences. While still in his teens, he abandoned his studies to dedicate himself to music, and explored a fascination with

soul music Soul music is a popular music genre that originated in African-American culture, African-American African-American neighborhood, communities throughout the United States in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Catchy rhythms, stressed by handclaps ...

. He worked as a DJ and produced the

fanzine A fanzine (blend word, blend of ''fan (person), fan'' and ''magazine'' or ''zine'') is a non-professional and non-official publication produced by enthusiasts of a particular cultural phenomenon (such as a literary or musical genre) for the pleas ...

"Curto Circuito", eventually meeting guitarist Luiz Fernando Comprido, with whom he formed the "Expresso Realengo", later renamed "Conexão Japeri" which recorded their first album in 1988. In 1990 Motta departed to begin his solo career, recording his debut ''Um Contrato Com Deus'', where he played almost all the instruments by himself. Since then he has released several solo albums. In 1997 he supplied the soundtrack to the film, ''Pequeno Dicionário Amoroso'' (The Book of Love). In 1994, he lived in New York City for a year. There he recorded an album with American musicians that has not been released yet. He discovered the universes of classical music, which eventually reflected on his musical conception. Once opposed to Brazilian music, he discovered that foreign artists had recorded Brazilian songs, such as recordings of Francis Hime's Minha by jazz artist

Bill Evans William John Evans (August 16, 1929 – September 15, 1980) was an American Jazz piano, jazz pianist and composer who worked primarily as the leader of his trio. His use of impressionist harmony, block chords, innovative chord voicings, a ...

, and discovered a partnership between Brazilian

Marcos Valle Marcos Kostenbader Valle (born 14 September 1943) is a Brazilian singer, musician, and songwriter. He has produced works in many musical styles, including bossa nova, samba, and fusions of rock, soul, jazz, and dance music with Brazilian styles. ...

and American Leon Ware, famous for composing the song I Wanna Be Where You Are, recorded by

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Michael Jackson, one of the most culturally significan ...

. In 1999 he translated

Phil Collins Philip David Charles Collins (born 30 January 1951) is an English musician, songwriter, record producer and actor. He was the drummer and later became the lead singer of the rock band Genesis (band), Genesis and had a successful solo career, ac ...

's songs for the

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Di ...

film ''

Tarzan Tarzan (John Clayton, Viscount Greystoke) is a fictional character, a feral child raised in the African jungle by the Mangani great apes; he later experiences civilization, only to reject it and return to the wild as a heroic adventurer. Creat ...

'' into

Brazilian Portuguese Brazilian Portuguese (; ; also known as pt-BR) is the set of Variety (linguistics), varieties of Portuguese language native to Brazil. It is spoken by almost all of the 203 million inhabitants of Brazil and widely across the Brazilian diaspora ...

. His album ''Aystelum'' was nominated for the Latin Grammy Awards of 2006 in the Latin jazz category. Motta has worked with Cassiano,

Roy Ayers Roy Edward Ayers Jr. (September 10, 1940 – March 4, 2025) was an American vibraphonist, record producer, and composer. Ayers began his career as a post-bop jazz artist, releasing several studio albums with Atlantic Records, before his tenure ...

, 4 Hero, Seu Jorge,

Eliane Elias Eliane Elias (born 19 March 1960) is a Brazilian jazz pianist, singer, composer and arranger. Biography Elias was born in São Paulo, Brazil, on 19 March 1960. She started studying piano when she was seven, and at age twelve she was transcribing ...

Incognito Incognito is an English adjective meaning "in disguise", "having taken steps to conceal one's identity". Incognito may also refer to: Film and television Film * ''Incognito'', a 1915 film featuring Rae Berger * ''Incognito'' (1937 film), a Dan ...

Bo Diddley Ellas Otha Bates (December 30, 1928 – June 2, 2008), known professionally as Bo Diddley, was an American guitarist and singer who played a key role in the transition from the blues to rock and roll. He influenced many artists, including Buddy ...

and

Ryuichi Sakamoto was a Music of Japan, Japanese musician, composer, keyboardist, record producer, singer and actor. He pursued a diverse range of styles as a solo artist and as a member of the Synthesizer, synth-based band Yellow Magic Orchestra (YMO). With his ...

among others. His work covers a variety of genres from jazz to popular Brazilian music, rock to Hollywood film soundtracks,

, classical music, AOR, bossa nova and

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica during the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its Jamaican diaspora, diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, "Do the Reggay", was the first ...

Controversies

Motta is known for controversies involving fans and fellow artists. During a 2015 tour, Motta criticized Brazilians who at concerts would request songs in Portuguese, Brazil's native language. The singer would go on to claim those were "simple-minded", "rednecks", "native", "Brazilian bricklayers" fans of other musical genres who "jumped like animals", while calling Brazil a "shitty", "ignorant land". He has since apologized. During an Instagram live broadcast he called hip hop fans "stupid", prompting backlash from fans and artists.

Selected discography

* Behind The Tea Chronicles (2024) * ''Behind The Tea Chronicles'' (2024)

References

External links

* – official site
Ed Motta
at All Brazilian Music * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Motta, Ed 1971 births Living people Música Popular Brasileira pianists Brazilian jazz pianists Brazilian rock musicians Musicians from Rio de Janeiro (city) Brazilian male musicians Brazilian male jazz musicians Brazilian soul singers Brazilian funk singers 20th-century Brazilian pianists 21st-century Brazilian pianists Male jazz pianists 20th-century Brazilian male singers 20th-century Brazilian singers 21st-century Brazilian male singers 21st-century Brazilian singers