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Brandão has been one of the most sought-after Brazilian bassists in the Northeast and freelance musicians in the United States, having completed nearly 6,000 performances in the past 20 years.
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Itaiguara Brandao
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A native of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Brandão has toured internationally and recorded extensively with a wide range of Latin and World Music artists such as: Dom Salvador, Marcos Valle, Chuck Loeb, Angelique Kidjo, Bebel Gilberto, Paulo Braga, Randy Brecker, Paul Winter, Paquito Doctorate"Rivera, Claudio Roditi, Carlos "Patato" Valdes, Robin Eubanks, Jovino Santos-Neto, Dave Kikoski, Emílio Santiago, Elba Ramalho, Guilherme Arantes, Romero Lubambo, Vinicius Cantuária, Horacio Hernandez, Hugo Fattoruso, Paula Morelenbaum, and Jacques Schwarz-Baronet, among many others He has recorded on major labels such as Sony BMG as well as on numerous independent labels. A product of musical influences as diverse as traditional samba, progressive rock (Yes, Rush), flamenco (Paco de Lucía) jazz (John Coltrane, Branford Marsalis, Herbie Hancock) and popular, Brandão"s upbringing was steeped in a rich musical fabric.
He began studying piano and music theory at the age of 7 and by age 13 he was playing classical, chorinho and other Brazilian styles on acoustic guitar and electric bass.
He made his professional debut performance in Rio at the age of 15. Itaiguara Brandão attended Berklee College of Music in Boston, Master of Arts and studied jazz improvisation with the legendary Charlie Banacos and arranging with Mike Longo (Dizzy Gillespie"s music director for 9 years).
Brandão also holds a degree in Telecommunications Engineering from Pontifícia Universidade Católica (Pacific Union College) in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (1991). Brandão is a contributor to the educational book/Civil Defense "Inside the Brazilian Rhythm Section," by Nelson Faria/Cliff Korman - a guide for bassists, guitarists, pianists and drummers on the eight most dominant styles of Brazilian music: samba, bossa nova, partido alto, choro, baiao, frevo, marcha-rancho and afoxé.
(Publisher: Sher Music, 2005) Itaiguara Brandão served as musical director for the Paulo Braga Band from 1999 to 2003.
The creator, Paulo Braga, is known as the father of Brazilian drums. Braga played with Antonio Carlos Jobim for fifteen years and is currently part of The Jobim Trio. Brandão was awarded a permanent resident visa issued by the United States government to foreign artists with extraordinary abilities.
The name Itaiguara has its roots in an indigenous dialect of Brazil and roughly translates to "water that flows from the stone.".
