MICHEL LEME

(by Bruno Bacchi, translated by Naná Rizzini) Guitar player and composer Michel Leme was born in 1971 in the city of Sao Paulo. He has been playing since the age of eight and professionally since 1990. During his journey around the world of music, he has multiplied himself throughout notes and solidified his place in the world of greats. Today it is useless to describe him in words, because he cannot be contemplated in just one panorama; listen to him and you will know that it´s Michel Leme. On stage, Michel played with numerous renowned musicians, as Gary Willis, Michael Brecker, Nenê, Lee Konitz, Joe Lovano among others. His presence on the press is also constant; the guitar player is frequently required by traditional magazines and websites, such as Guitar Player, Cover Guitar, “Bandas de Garagem”, Ejazz, “Clube do Jazz”, “Vitrine” and “Canal Pop”, besides his marked presence in television shows such as “Programa do Jô” (Rede Globo), “Programa Metrópolis” (TV Cultura) among others. Michel Leme has to his credit participations in more than twenty albums of instrumental music in which he registered his versatility and singularity. Invited by different musicians, he recorded in Album Collections such as “G.U.I.T.A.R.”, and Arismar do Espirito Santo´s solo albums “Mr.Motaba” and “Foto do Satélite”, as well as his own albums “Umdoistrio”, “Quarteto” and “Trocando Idéias”. As a teacher, Michel instructs in the main schools of music in the city of São Paulo: “Souza Lima Conservatory”, “Escola de Musica e Tecnologia” (EM&T) and “Instituto In Concert” where his own methodology for the guitar course was adopted. He has released two instructional video recordings and a book called “150 Frases de Jazz & Fusion” – both sold out. He has been developing his own teaching method for 17 years and says: “I teach the way I would like to be taught: based on theory, but putting 90% of the emphasis on evoluting by playing”. Currently, besides teaching and performing, Michel Leme is releasing his most recent album: “Michel Leme & A Firma”, in which he is able to flirt with several different rhythms and styles such as samba, waltz, latin rhythms and jazz, clearly preserving an unit between the nine tracks of the album through a simple principle, yet hard to be reached: musical freedom. Michel Leme is sponsored by D`Addario Strings, Rotstage amplifiers and Nux Effects Pedal.