Rosalia de Souza

Rosalia De Souza was born in Rio de Janeiro, in the Nilopolis district famous for its samba school Beija-Flor. Her great passion for music was cultivated by her father. In 1989 she travelled to Italy and eventually moved to Rome to study musical theory, Cuban percussions, jazz and jazz history. Throughout this first year she also started to work with musicians playing Brazilian Music. Among them is Italian pianist Giovanni Guaccero who gave her the possibility to sing in the most important jazz clubs of the capital. Her typical repertoire included classical Brazilian authors like Tom Jobin, Baden Powell, Joao Gilberto, Sergio Mendes, Edu Lobo, Joyce, Toquinho, Vinicius De Moraes, Djavan, Caetano Veloso, Gilberto Gill, Chico Buarque, Milton Nascimento and many other less renowned artists.

In the second half of the 1990’s Rosalia participated in different projects, collaborations and festivals, among which Nicola Conte (in the project Fez), recordings with Quintetto X and Intensive Jazz Sextet and a concert in Barbican Center, London. In 2001 she was invited to represent Italy at the Montreux Jazz Festival along with Schema Sextet and Nicola Conte.

Garota Moderna is the debut album by De Souza, released in 2003, followed closely by Garota Diferente (2004), an album containing nu-jazz versions of her songs by artists like Five Corners quintet, Big Bang, Povo, Trüby Trio and The Dining Rooms, among others.

Her third album Brasil Precisa Balançar was recorded entirely in Rio de Janeiro under the supervision of Roberto Menescal, a legendary Bossa Nova maestro. This album marks Rosalia’s growth through the return to her country’s original music. Collaborations include the great Marcos Valle; Toco and Roberto Menescal himself.

In 2009 Rosalia released D’Improvviso, an album which recalls places and tastes related to the Brazilian music of the past. Slavery, politics, cultural movements of the 50’s-60’s, shanty-towns and the importance of the mixture rhythm/harmony where the Brazilian music is more intensified than the other ones. All of these elements were examined during the recording phases.

In the last few years Rosalia de Souza continued her collaboration with the Schema Sextet, as well as with other musicians. In 2013, DJs and producers Pilots on Dope from Vienna invited Rosalia to record three tracks on their album Udopeia, released in 2014 on Verve/Universal Records.