ABOUT
Caetano Brasil's music portrays varied universes. And at the same time, it creates other ones. The union of different influences results in a sound so unique and full of personality that, possibly, the best way to refer to his work is to call it contemporary. Caetano's musical production seems to present itself as if capturing and representing the sound of this world, without boundaries and borders.
Caetano lives in different universes. From Brazilian choro to French impressionism; From Villa-Lobos's polytonalism to jazz improvisation, and from the Caribbean to Jewish music. Such creative inventiveness is shaped into the performance of a quartet with Caetano Brasil on clarinet and saxophone, Guilherme Veroneze on the piano, Adalberto Silva on double bass and Gladston Vieira on the drums. And also, in the artistic formations in trio of Caetano Brasil & O Choro Livre (with Bia Nascimento on guitar and Chico Cabral on percussion) and in duo of Caetano Brasil & Guilherme Veroneze.
The artist's trajectory was nationally recognized with Brazilian awards for instrumental music, such as Nabor Pires Camargo and BDMG Instrumental, both in 2019 and internationally, with 2020 Latin Grammy nomination, in the category "Best Instrumental Album" with “Cartografias”.
Caetano also multiplies. From composer to a clarinetist; through a musical director, a saxophonist and an arranger; from teacher to music appreciation supporter, and especially, of Brazilian choro. Caetano Brasil is as contemporary as the music he creates.
Artistic Trajectory
10 years dedicated to contemporary instrumental music and Brazilian choro were celebrated in 2020 with the nomination for the Latin Grammy. The previous year, Caetano was awarded 1st place at the XVIII Nabor Pires Camargo Instrumentista Prize (Indaiatuba/SP) and also as “Best Instrumentist” at the XIX BDMG Instrumental Prize (Belo Horizonte/MG).
Also, in 2019, he was honored in the city of Juiz de Fora, his hometown, with the Geraldo Pereira Medal, granted by the City Council, in recognition of his work in the production, dissemination and enhancement of artistic and cultural manifestations in the city and the region.
The artist has three albums released: Caetano Brasil, from 2015, produced with resources from the Murilo Mendes Municipal Program (Culture Incentive Law of the city of Juiz de Fora/MG), “Cartografias”, an independent production from 2019, and, the most recent “Pixinverso – infinito Pixinguinha”, an album to reverence the work of Pixinguinha, with Caetano’s own arrangements.
His trajectory brings together artistic initiatives such as the cultural project “The world of contemporary choro” in Fortaleza and Juazeiro do Norte, sponsored by Banco do Nordeste in 2017; participation in several festivals such as Vi Jazz (Itabira/MG); Fartura Gastronomia (Tiradentes/MG), Winter Festival of São João Del-Rei (MG), Arte Boa Praça in Miraí (MG); in addition to performances in important Brazilian stages such as at the Cine Theatro Central in Juiz de Fora and the Bituca Theater – Popular Musica University, Barbacena/MG.
Professional experience
Caetano Brasil expands his professional experience, acting as a musical director and instrumentalist. As a director, some highlights are The EP “Água de Nascente do Duo Nascente” (to be released in June 2022), the 2019 album “Chora, Princesa – a panel of contemporary choro by Juiz de Fora”, directed and co-idealized by him, and the 2016 album “Mantiqueira” by singer and composer Cacaudio.
As an instrumentalist, he participates in theatrical performances of Grupo Ponto de Partida with emphasis on “Ser Minas, Tão Gerais” (2014 and 2015) with the participation of Meninos de Araçuaí and Milton Nascimento; “Mineiramente” (2014 and 2016), “Roda que rola” (2017) and “Presente de vó” (2013 to 2017), the last two also with the participation of Meninos de Araçuaí. Since 2016, he has been part of the band of singer-songwriter Emmerson Nogueira, with whom he tours across Brazil with.
Music teaching
It is with the enthusiasm of those who believe in the importance of choro for Brazilian culture that Caetano also stands out in teaching and democratizing this musical language. He is the creator and coordinator of “Projeto Mão na Roda”, a didactic choro open class that took place weekly in Juiz de Fora from 2017 to 2019, bringing together professional musicians, students and music enthusiasts.
Over the last years, he has given classes, free courses, lectures and workshops on various themes involving the genre, such as the class “Clarinet in choro” in the programming of Fimuca (International Music Festival at Home) in 2020, and the realization of the mini-course “The choro: its history and evolution”, financed by BDMG Cultural, also in 2020. In addition, since 2020, he has developed the free course “Improvisation, harmony and counterpoint in the language of choro” with groups formed every semester.
Caetano has a dynamic online presence, by creating artistic and educational content for his Instagram and Youtube channels, with emphasis on the web series “Improvisation talks” and “Playing choro by yourself” and the podcast “Binary Compass”.