Zezo Ribeiro’s energetic personality merged with Vanessas enthusiasm. To the kind melodies from the guitarist, she achieved delightful lyrics; and to the much more rhythmical sounds from the Brazilian northeast, she attuned sensual and a bit naughty song writing. Vanessa has given a good dose of freshness and humour to Zezo’s music.
In Turbilhâo (whirlwind) we find many ways to approach a song. Most of the writing started with Zezo composing de music and then Vanessa added the lyrics, with some exceptions that are: Paixâo embriagante, Bye, Bye, amor -both are Vanessa’s composition-, Sandalia de Oxalá, Para beber sem canudinho, Peixnho -entirely written by Zezo- and Comenzando a amar -words by José Luis Montón.
To Zezo’s guitar and Vanessa’s voice, the double bass and the accordion help as counterpoint. The music arrangement’s diverse combination, enables their variety to expand it self, giving the record a life of it self, filled with sparkling surprises. North-eastern, flamenco, and Brazilian classic elements, more or less close to tradition, in a full on jazz…. Always stylish and rich in melodies.
For their presentations the couple become three, with Juan Jaime Leite’s addition, playing the acoustic double bass and reflecting brazil’s unconventional, friendly, musical complicity.
This is how Vanessa describes the tracks on the CD:
- Beija: Don’t ask for it, just kiss, kiss everybody. The kiss can change the world.
- Paixâo Embriagante: Get passion drunk, is healthy and awakes the senses.
- Mâos: Everything starts in our hands.
- Pensamento: what are you thinking? If when we think we feel, what is the diference between living and thinking?
- O som do samba: I invited someone to dance and then…..
- Turbilâo: What can we do with that twister we all have inside?
- Para beber sem canudinho: without the straw, directly with the mouth and toungue.
- Caso “fieu”: Be faithfull to your own values. Don’t harm anyone not even yourself.
- Bye, Bye, amor: If everything is over…. Let it be. I’ll be at the movies having some popcorns
- Sandalia de Oxalá: The strength of the Orixas.
- Oraçâo para María Clara: A prayer for all our sons, and everyone we love.
- Peixinho: The soft love sweetness, soft like a fish.
Zezo Ribeiro is a young guitar-player and composer from Sâo Paulo, Brazil, with an impressive artistic trace. Favourite student of John Scofield and Zezo himself a teacher at the Sâo Paulo State University, he stands out for what is called "universal regionalism" in his music. As an instrumentalist and a virtuous guitar-player he is always attentive to what is going on in the world of jazz and flamenco. As a composer he seems to embody the whole variety of rhythms of his homeland - from the ease of a samba to the intimacy of a bossa.
Always searching for his roots, Zezo Ribeiro immerses deeply in traditional music to adopt different rhythms and influences. It takes him only two years to define his personal style and be invited, together with Alemâo (Olmir Stocker) to the famous Montreal Jazz Festival . From that moment on they are touring around the world for ten years, visit twenty-three countries - from Angola to Canada - and do no less than 160 concerts. Zezo appears on almost every album that Alemâo recorded. At the same time he meets Rafael Rabelo and starts to work with him. Rafael Rabelo is now gone, but in some way Zezo continues his work.
Zezo's interest in playing the flamenco-guitar brings him to Spain, where he dedicates himself to it's study for two years. In Spain he also releases his first album, Gandaia, together with well known musicians like North-American bass player John Patitucci, Brazilian drummer Cristiano Rocha, flamenco-guitar player José Luis Montón and singer Uxía from Galicia.
Brincadeira , his third album, coincides with Zezo Ribeiro's getting over an especially delicate period in his artistic career in which an injury in one arm kept him away from the stage for more than a year. Brincadeira's recording coincided with the start of a new colaboration, (never resting) Zezo with Vanessa Boraghian, songwriter, singer and at that moment, member in the most important percussion group of the escola de samba from Sâo Paulo. Vanessa also leaded a feminine samba-pagode group called TPM (Tocado Por Mulheres) which was presented as "The funniest women group of all times". Lively and plesent lyrics give shape to Beija, Ciumentaor Turbillâo , this songs where presnted for the first time in Madrid, as part of a small summer tour in 2004. A great quality outcome, that once again, came beyond of the brazilian mainstream. Zezos top-class as a guitarrist and composer, and Vanessas charmig performance , ensure the duos future, wide open in possibilities.
Brincadeira's recording coincided with the start of a new colaboration, (never resting) Zezo with Vanessa Boraghian, songwriter, singer and at that moment, member in the most important percussion group of the escola de samba from Sâo Paulo. Vanessa also leaded a feminine samba-pagode group called TPM (Tocado Por Mulheres) which was presented as "The funniest women group of all times". Lively and plesent lyrics give shape to Beija, Ciumentaor Turbillâo , this songs where presnted for the first time in Madrid, as part of a small summer tour in 2004. A great quality outcome, that once again, came beyond of the brazilian mainstream. Zezos top-class as a guitarrist and composer, and Vanessas charmig performance , ensure the duos future, wide open in possibilities.
Zezo and Vanessa