On Friday, June 14th, the 35th Annual TD International Jazz Festival starts. Local musicians and musicians and form all over the world will converge on the center of the continent to perform and take part in nine days of great music. 

Coming up this Monday, June 17th at 7pm and 9:30pm at The Fort Garry Hotel Club Room, Jazz Winnipeg will be saluting the legendary Bossa Nova Singer Astrud Gilberto. 

Called Astrud Gilberto: The Girl from Ipanema, this show will feature the wonderful Nova Brasil Collective and the Sadler Sisters, performing music of Gilberto, Tom Jobim, Marcos Valle, Roberto Menescal and others. 

This is going to be a show that will have audience members grooving to the cool, rhythmic, and suave sounds of Brazil. 

The songs of Astrud Gilberto are synonymous with the Bossa Nova explosion that happened in the United Staes in the 1960’s. Her presentation of these songs earned her many fans. For Nova Brasil Collective singers Elizabeth and Ashleigh Sadler, Gilberto was a wonderful vocal stylist. As Ashleigh says, “Her sound is just so effortless, and to a first listener you think ‘this is an easy melody anyone can sing it’ but that is definitely not the case...she just makes it sound that way... and as a vocalist that is something, especially singing this Bossa Nova style that I strive to emulate...just that effortless sound... but it is actually quite difficult.” 

Elizabeth Sadler goes on to say, "Bossa Nova music is kind of like musicians' music... the melodies are very intricate. You are often outlining the color tones of a chord and what makes the harmony the harmony...even in her [Gilberto] performance style she is very understated in her expressions, but she is nailing every one of those intervals and it just creates that beautiful tune that we love to hear.” 

I addition to the Astrud Gilberto songs, the Nova Brasil Collective will be performing music of some of the giants of Bossa Nova including, Tom Jobim Marcos Valle, Roberto Menescal and others. 

For Nova Brasil Collective pianist Dhiego Costa the piano playing of Marcos Valle serves as a considerable influence, “He was one of the really important pianists for me as I grew up...he had a big influence on my musical development. I like the way he comped with his left hand in Bossa Nova... he had a really light touch.” 

The Nova Brasil Collective is made up of some of the best musicians in the city. Combining Brazilian musicians who are now living in Winnipeg with musicians originally from Manitoba, the group creates music that will make you a fan of all things Bossa Nova and Samba.  

The line up consists of Brazilian born musicians Emmanuel Bach on electric guitar, Leandro Saltarelli on cello, Lucas Ferreira on bass, Osvaldo Ferraz on acoustic guitar and Dhiego Costa on piano. The Manitoba/ Canadian contingent consists of vocalists Ashleigh and Elizabeth Sadler (The Sadler Sisters), Gage Salnikowski on flute/sax, and Rob Siwik on drums. 

Jazz Winnipeg’s presentation of Astrud Gilberto: The Girl from Ipanema as part of the 35th TD International Jazz festival is sure to be a phenomenal show. The Nova Brasil Collective's supreme musicianship in combination with this infectious music will make you want to get up and dance. 

Astrud Gilberto: The Girl from Ipanema takes place on Monday, June 17th at 7:00 and 9:30 in The Fort Garry Hotel Club Room. 

For more details visit Jazz Winnipeg’s website 

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