LIFEM Present: Badi Assad And Gaio de Lima -29.10.14
London International Festival of Exploratory Music (LIFEM) present Crossing Cultures which runs from 29th October to 1st November 2014.
Badi Assad - Hailing from Brazil, singer-guitarist percussionist Badi Assad transcends traditional styles of her native music with a mixture of pop, jazz and world/ethnic sounds that defies categorisation.
Assad worked with musicians including Bobby McFerrin, Yo-Yo Ma and Sarah McLaughlin, and recorded with John Abercrombie, Larry Coryel, and her brothers Sérgio and Odair, among others.
Assad's trio is complete with Simone Sou whose knowledge of Latin American and African rhythms allows her to play through any musical style; and Oleg Fateev, a Moldovan accordion player of international allure.
Gaio de Lima is a professional musician from Rio de Janeiro, living in London since 2007. In the UK, he has performed at Glastonbury, the Royal Albert Hall, Ronnie Scott's, 606 Club and the Southbank Centre, among others venues and festivals. His repertoire and influences is very diverse and based in everything he has learned in Brazil and around of the World.
Several of his compositions have been recorded by internationally renowned musicians. In addition, he has collaborated with musicians such us Darius Brubeck (the son of Dave Brubeck), Domas Aleksa in Europe and Grupo Fundo de Quintal and Grupo Clareou back in Brazil. In 2007, the song A Paz became a national hit in Brazil and in 2012, the tune Favelado resulted in great feedback by the media, granting him performances at Kaunas and Mama Jazz Festivals in Lithuania.
In March 2012 he founded Clube do Choro UK (CCUK), which is the UK's first choro organisation in history: the only one that promotes the 'roda' traditions of choro in the UK. CCUK hosts monthly choro concerts, which are steadily growing in popularity. This year, it received the Brazilian International Press Award and he has established partnerships with the Brazilian Embassy and Chamber of Commerce. CCUK also hosted the UK's first Choro Festival at BMG Federation this year.
He is also the music director of A Oca. This is an exciting new project directed by Gaio de Lima, which explores the rhythms, melodies and dances from the Amazonian and Northern Brazilian folk traditions using bamboo pifano flutes and a healthy dose of Brazilian percussion. This is a traditional orchestration and yet contains such a powerful sound – dancing is an absolute must, not only for the audience but for the musicians too. An 'oca' is a traditional indigenous Brazilian house, which is built collectively in around ten days using material from the jungle. The oca is the centre of the community and can house six hundred families living in complete harmony!
Gaio is currently studying at SOAS university, doing a Masters in African music. This, he says, it is not only to explore the sounds of Africa but also to understand the origins of Brazilian music.
Badi Assad voice, guitar, mouth and body percussion
Simone Sou drums and percussion
Oleg Fateev button accordion
