Renato MARTINS
Multi instrumentalist, born in 1970 in Niterói (Brazil )
Renato Martins, the multi instrumentalist, born in Rio brought up inSão Paulo, started to play percussion and piano when he was just four years old. His musicaleducation started at six with maestro Silvio Tancredi, progressing on to study drumsand piano concentrating on Brazilian popular music at Zimbo Trio's School, TheCLAM. He also studied classical piano with Professor Leda Maria Chacur Alves, as wellas harmony, composition and conducting at Santa Marcelina Arts University.
Renato was self-taught in a majority of his percussion techniques and created new techniques (melodically) fortraditional instruments, for example, the moringa (clay pot). He is also known to have applied kitchenutensils as percussion instruments and has been considered ONE OF THE BEST PERCUSSIONISTS IN THE COUNTRYand a renewer of the Brazilian percussion by the specialized media.
Between1994 and 1996 he lived in England and played with the tabla player Sarvar Sabri, thesax player Andy Hamilton and other big names of jazz and ethnic music in the country.He participated in festivals like Womad and The Birmingham JazzFestival. He also played at The Queen Elizabeth Hall in London with thepercussionist Nana Tsiboe from Ghana.
In 1998, back in Brazil, RenatoMartins was the only percussionist to reach the semi finals in the 1 st Visa Award ofInstrumental Brazilian Popular Music. Since then he worked in collaboration with famous Brazilianartists like Duda Neves, Sergio Sa, Moacyr Luz,Sa & Guarabyra, Tom Da Terra e Paulo Moura.
Renato Martins is also a musical educator and taught percussion at the 30 th and31 st Winter Festivals of Campos do Jordao (July 1999 and 2000). He alsoteaches privately and does regular workshops at Music Schools and runs percussion courses.
Heplayed at the Heineken Concerts in 2000 beside Andre Cristhovam andthe American guitarist Taj Mahal and carried on playing beside some of the big names ofthe Brazilian instrumental music like: Andre Geraissati, UlissesRocha, Nelson Faria, Carlinhos Antunes, MozartMello, Roberto Sion, Celso Pixinga, AndreMehmari and Celio Barros.
In 2003 Renato Martins launched his first solo CD,'Indaia'. The album was celebrated by the media experts and it wasreleased at the most prestigious venue of instrumental music in Brazil, the Instrumental SescBrasil, broadcasted by the cable channel Rede Sesc-Senac de Televisao with a big audience.
Renato Martins is based in Brussels since 2004 for five months promoting his solo album and workingwith several big names of the Belgium jazz scene like: Steve Houben, Victor da Costa, Henri Greindl,Daniel Stokart, Daniel Miranda, Maxime Blesín, and Osman Martins. He has played at some importantvenues of Brussels like Flagey, The Music Village, ThéâtreMarni, and Téâtre Molière.
Renato Martins played with the Armeniangroup Arax at the project Le Monde est un Village. The concert tookplace at the Théâtre 140 and was broadcasted by the Belgian radio stationRTBF. He also played in India at the Sai Baba's birthdaycelebration in November and played in London beside the saxophonist MartinSpeake.
Boris Gaquere and Renato Martins Duo
Boris Gaquere (guitar - Belgium), andRenato Martins (percussions - Brazil) met in Brussels in 2004, duringRenato first stay in Belgium.
Boris' approach to the traditional “Brazilian“classical guitar style, influenced by his studies with Odair Assad, allows him to tour worldwide.
Renato's creativity with the Cajón and especially the Moringa, or clay pot, has madehim to be regarded as Brazil's percussion rejuvenator.
For obvious reasons, they soonrealized they had a similar approach to music and, after
Their repertoire,in addition to their own compositions, contains a number of Brazilian pieces by guitarists and composersof renown (Baden-Powell, Paulo Bellinati, Marco Pereira, etc). The set is a musical festival ofinstrumental rhythms and colours.
TEMPO FELIZ consecrates this union. Asthis recording clearly shows, they meet in perfect harmony and emphasize the bond they share betweenvirtuosity and swing of the Brazilian rhythms.
The CD was released in the first quarter of2006 on Mogno Music, a Belgian Jazz, Fusion & Roots specialist recording label ( http://www.mognomusic.com ).
They were guests at the Brno Guitar Festival in the CzechRepublic in August 2005, and played selected appearances in Belgium, France, Czech Republic, Poland,Brazil, Argentina and Taiwan.
The upcoming events will take place in Switzerland, Poland, France andU.S.A.
« Tempo Feliz » is a great recording, bare, sober, incisive, full of life and rhythm. An original duo formed of a Belgian guitarist (Boris Gaquere) and a Brazilian percussionist (Renato Martins). The material is written and arranged by contemporary Brazilian guitarists and composers (Paulo Bellinati, Marco Pereira). Also to be found, music from Baden Powell and LuÃs Bonfá arranged by the great Sérgio Assad. Boris Gaquere also proposes his own music imbued with the colours of Brazil. There is in Boris a marvelous control of the guitar, a beautiful essential rhythmic sprightliness for this demanding repertoire. He finds in Renato Martins, straight out of São Paulo, an ideal partner for these melodies. Let us also appreciate the presence of Henri Greindl on the double bass in ' Feliz' Tempo and of Daniel Stockart on the soprano saxophone in ' Pão de Açucar'. I very much like this record.
Philip Catherine
www.philipcatherine.com
http://www.myspace.com/gaqueremartins