Choro Ensemble - the Choro of New York City

The Choro Ensemble is:
Anat Cohen on Clarinet
Pedro Ramos on Cavaquinho and Tenor Guitar
Gustavo Dantas on 6 String Guitar
Carlos Almeida on 7 String Guitar
Zé Mauricio on Pandeiro
The Choro Ensemble does a pioneering job in the US showing the most sophisticated and beautiful Brazilian music ever. Although most peope are not familiar with the CHoro style, the public falls in love with this genre of music that combines the classical European elements, Afro-Brazilian rhythms, improvisation and constant counterpoints between melody and the 7 string guitar.
More than merely playing Choro music for the American public, the Choro Ensemble also presents its own innovations in terms of arrangements and original compositions.
In its 6 years of existence, the Choro Ensemble has some stories to tell:

2002- Voted Best Weekly Jazz gig in Manhathan by Time Out Magazine
2003- Played as special guest with the Wynton Marsalis Lincoln Jazz Orchestra at the legendary Apollo Theater
2004- Performed as a special guest group with the New York Pops in the famous Carnegie Hall
2005- Released its first CD on a major label "Circular Moves" which is under the umbrela of Sunnyside Records, with distribution in US, Canada and Porto
Rico.
2005-Choro Ensemble toured Brazil, proving to be a success with the Brazilian public as well.
2006-Peformed at JVC Jazz Festival, one of the biggest festivals in the US, which featured many Jazz legends such as Wayne Shorter, Herbie Hancock and Keith Jarret.
2006-In Noveber the group oured Brazil AGAIN this time traveled to Brazilia, Rio Preto, Rio De Janeiro and San Paulo area
2007 - "Nosso Tempo", our new CD came out in August on Anzic Records!

Also, the group played for 5 years every Sunday at a French Bistro in Manhathan, where we had often visits from musicians like: Duduka da Fonseca (Tom Jobim's drummer), Maucha Adnet (Tom Jobim's vocalist), Paulo Jobim, Maria Schneider, the late Skitch Handerson, Lila Downs, Howard Alden, Paul Meyers,Dennis Erwin and many others.

THE HISTORY OF THE CHORO ENSEMBLE

The idea of bringing choro to New York started in 1999. Pedro Ramos, who played cavaquinho with fellow Music majors from the University of the State of São Paulo, decided to join his future wife in the United States and could not imagine life without choro. "I wanted a band with traditional format -- guitar, wind, cavaquinho and pandeiro --, playing in contemporary fashion, with improvisation and original compositions and arrangements.
"First came guitarist and journalist Paulo Trevisani. The duo got a weekly gig at Cafe Bar, in Astoria. Musicians heard there was choro in town and flocked to Queens. One was Israeli horn player Anat Cohen. She was introduced to choro at Boston's Berklee College of Music, and after jamming with Pedro, decided to deepen the experience, bringing her swing, jazz, Latin and klezmer influences. In the Summer of 2000 they played at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center.
The right percussionist came around then. Zé Maurício, from Rio de Janeiro, was playing pandeiro in a trio and trying to convince the two others to experiment with choro, without luck. The band cemented their project when invited in May 2001 to play every Sunday at East Village's Jules Bistro, a jazz musicians' hangout. Weeks later, Paulo, who had a day job in New Jersey, became a father. With this, the Choro Ensemble ought to find a new guitar player.
The search for a guitarist seemed to end with Gustavo Dantas, a Rio native who spent 10 years in Europe. Gustavo used his classical training to learn choro, but a girlfriend led him out of the country. In his absence, guitarist Carlos Almeida went by Jules and found himself taken back to the past. As a teenager in the 1970s, he jammed with old choro masters in Rio. In the United States since 1987, Carlos founded Saveiro, a Brazilian band seen at Lincoln Center and Summer Stage.
Gustavo got married and back in early 2003. With the two 7-string guitars, the team was complete. By now, Anat speaks flawless Portuguese and Choro Ensemble has been a guest of Winton Marsalis and The Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra in the Apollo Theater and acclaimed by Time Out magazine as one of the five best weekly gigs in New York. On October 22, 2004, the Choro Ensemble appeared at the Carnegie Hall as a guest of the New York Pops Orchestra under the conducting of legendary Skitch Henderson. In June 21, 2006 the Choro Ensemble appeared at the JVC Jazz Festival in Manhathan, NYC.

THE MEMBERS OF THE CHORO ENSEMBLE

PEDRO RAMOS - Cavaquinho/ Tenor guitar
A composer, arranger, instrumentalist and bandleader, Pedro Ramos was born in Sao Paulo, Brazil. In 1992 he attended the Musicians Institute at The Guitar Institute of Technology (GIT), in Los Angeles, CA. He graduated in classical composition in 2003 at the Brooklyn College, CUNY. In 2005, also at CUNY, he got his Master degree in composition under the teaching of the Cuban composer and conductor Ms. Tania León. He plays guitar, tenor guitar and cavaquinho (a cousin of the ukelele) and is a researcher in the history of Brazilian Choro music.

ANAT COHEN - Clarinet
Originally from Tel Aviv, ANAT COHEN has traveled the world from Japan to Colombia, from Austria to Brazil, and is rapidly becoming a major force on the world music and jazz scene. Aside from her extraordinary instrumental abilities on soprano and tenor saxes, clarinet and flute, she has a natural ability to absorb the music of different cultures, process it and interpret it with her own special take. The winner of several prestigious awards, her playing has received accolades from reviewers like Jon Pareles, Nat Hentoff, Dan Morgenstern, and many more. She is an innovator who also understands and respects the value of preserving traditional musical forms. Hearing Anat today, it is clear that we will be hearing a lot about her in years to come.

ZÉ MAURÍCIO - Pandeiro
From Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, ZÉ MAURÍCIO has been living and playing in New York for the last 10 years. Zé is an original member of "Cyro Baptista's: Beat the Donkey", a percussion ensemble performing in the U.S., Africa, and throughout Europe. He also performs with an eclectic blend of local bands as well as with Roots of Brazil, a Folkloric Brazilian music and dance company. Zé has worked with artists such as Naná Vasconcelos, Paquito D'Rivera, Yo-Yo Ma, Wynton Marsalis, Paul Winters and Romero Lubambo. Since 2003 Zé Maurício is a LP/RMV endorsed artist.

CARLOS ALMEIDA - 7 String Guitar
Born in Rio de Janeiro, Brasil, Carlos Almeida studied Economics and is a self-taught 6 & 7 string acoustic Guitar and Cavaquinho player. Carlos has played with many of the biggest names in Brazilian Popular Music such as Beth Carvalho, Jorge Aragao, Joao Nogueira, Jair Rodrigues, Elza Soares, Alceu Maia, etc. In New York, Carlos is one of the founders of the most popular Brazilian band in America, Grupo Saveiro.

GUSTAVO DANTAS - 6 & 7 String Guitar
Gustavo dantas was born in niteroi,rio de janeiro. In Brazil he played with groups such as Francis Drake and Vittor Santos Orchestra ranging in styles from rock to samba. Gustavo has studied with ian Guest and Luis Claudio Ramos. In 1990 he moved to Europe, developing a wide range of styles, playing with artists such as Roots Godwana, Black Soul Reggae Band, Eddie Cole, Jon Sass and Angus Bangus. In 1999 Gustavo moved to New York and has recorded and performed with artists such as Curtis Fowlkes , Jorge Amorim, Ogans, Dk Dyson and many others.