Free Brazillian jazz at Maitisong tonight

MONKAGEDI GAOTLHOBOGWE
Staff Writer | Tuesday August 10, 2010 00:00

The artist who also has several jazz albums is said to fuse jazz with Brazilian cultural music, samba, to good effect.  His style of jazz is also said to combine elements of Spanish music, earning him  respect among  top Spanish and Brazilian musos who engaged his services in recording their works.

The jazz musician is described as a young guitar-player and composer with an impressive artistic trace. Zezo, from  Sao Paulo, will be dishing out tunes at a free show sponsored by the Brazilian embassy in Gaborone as part of cultural exchange between the two countries.

A teacher at the S‰o Paulo State University,  Zezo stands out for what is called 'universal regionalism' in his music. According to national geographic music, Zezo is  an instrumentalist and a virtuoso guitar-player ever so 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,' the website says.

'I started out as a professional musician at the age of 24, though I've been playing guitar since I was a little boy.  One day when I was about to finish my studies in economy I realised that music for me was a way of life and that I needed it to feel complete. I owe my identity to the music.

'I left my girlfriend, my studies and my friends and dedicated myself to the profound and professional study of guitar playing.  Those were difficult years, but I had found the place where I could feel free: music.  I love to mix different kinds of music and improve harmonies.'  According to this source, Zezo immerses deeply in traditional music to adopt different rhythms and influences.  In fact, the website says  it took him only two years to define his personal style and be invited, together with Alem‰o (Olmir Stocker), to the famous Montreal Jazz Festival in Canada.

He has since toured around the world for 10 years, visiting 23 countries from Angola to Canada where he staged no less than 160 concerts in the process.

Zezo's interest in playing the flamenco guitar took  him to Spain, where he studied the style for two years.  In fact, his debut album was released in  Spain.