Monica Salmaso

September 7, 2002
8:00 pm
Monica Salmaso
with Benjamim Taubkin
Cowell Theatre, Fort Mason Center,
Buchanan Street at Marina Boulevard , San Francisco, California

Tickets: $23 & $28 Reserved Seating
Fort Mason Center Box Office 415/345-7575
The Box Office is located at the entrance to the Cowell Theater and is open 11am to 5 pm
Information & Directions to Fort Mason Center: www.fortmason.org

Monica Salmaso has emerged as one of the best new talents of Brazil. By winning the El Dorado Prize as best singer in Brazil in 1999, she now finds herself at the forefront of the renovation of Brazilian popular music. Monica’s voice has been described as warm but profound, quintessentially Brazilian, silken and hypnotic. She moves between musical styles with ease and grace, yet always with a fresh outlook on the songs which she interprets, whether it’s bossa nova or tropical ballads.

Brazil has routinely produced talented vocalists, which makes Monica’s new title as “best singer” all the more triumphant. Born in Sao Paulo in 1971, Monica took voice lessons while waiting to begin her university courses in journalism. Her career began when she was hired to sing Gregorian chants in a theater play. Bruce Gilman of Brazzil magazine calls her “the singer Brazil has needed for so long”. Monica recorded the cd Afro-Sambas , arranged and produced by Brazilian guitarist Paulo Bellinati in 1995, premiering the complete Afro-Sambas by Baden Powell and Vinicius de Moraes .

Monica’s first solo cd, Tamborim /Blue Jackel Records, produced by Rodolfo Stroeter in 1998, featured many creative artists of contemporary Brazilian music, including Nana Vasconcelos , Teco Cardoso and Paulo Bellinati. Rodolfo Stroeter also produced Monica’s latest cd Voadeira /Blue Jackel Records, which elegantly showcases the open, luminous clarity of her voice. Taking a radical approach, even on traditional standards, she successfully distances her repertoire from the usual sameness. Monica is never forceful or exaggerated, preferring to sound natural and fluid, yet sweet and light.

Pianist Benjamim Taubkin accompanies Monica Salmaso . Steeped in the jazz style of Bill Evans and Keith Jarrett , Benjamim began his career in the 1970’s by collaborating with Rafael Rabello , Zizi Possi , Marlui Miranda, among others. As a producer, Benjamim worked with the Orquestra Popular de Camara , formed in 1997, which led to another project of Nana Vasconcelos ’ with Mike Marshall , SF bay area Choro player. Benjamim provides a canvas upon which Monica paints musical portraits with her own unique coloring, creating a magical chemistry that captures the listener’s heart.

Information & Directions to Fort Mason Center: www.fortmason.org

MUSIC FILES
each mp3 file + 300 kb

Excerpts From VOADEIRA Blue Jackel 2002

A Violeira

Cara de Indio