The sweet sound of Brazil arrives at Massey Hall

Samba Toronto presents Gal Costa in Concert 00

Sunday November 15th, 2009
Venue: Massey Hall
Start time: 7:30 pm
Prices: $49.50 to $69.50 (now on sale)
Tickets available online at masseyhall.com or call 416-872-4255; And at Brazil Remittance
Performing acts: Opening act by Filo Machado & Sambacana; Main performance by Gal Costa & Romero Lubambo

An icon of the Brazilian music, Gal Costa will perform for the first time 
in Canada at Massey Hall, on November 15th

Toronto, ON, October 22th, 2009 – Gal Costa is a true icon of the Brazilian Tropicalia movement in music. With more than 30 recordings spanning a career of 40 years, she will be making her Canadian debut at Massey Hall, on November 15th, after the past successful Toronto run of her fellow Tropicalistas Gilberto Gil and Caetano Veloso. Gal’s one night performance in Toronto is preceded by four nights at the legendary Blue Note Jazz Club, in New York, and closes her North American tour.

The grace and style of Gal, her signature voice, heard in every delicate, yet forceful note, symbolizes one of the world’s most passionate places. A Brazilian musical legend, Gal will be singing the music of Brazil’s greatest composers, and she will be joined by Romero Lubambo, a master in his own right, on Brazilian guitar.

A fundamental presence in the Tropicalia movement, Gal, as she is called in her home country, has been part of Brazil's leading group of singers since the 1960s. At the age of 19, in 1964, Gal initiated her performing career with Caetano Veloso in the presentation of the opening of the Teatro Vila Velha in Salvador, Brazil. The show, called “Nós, por exemplo”, brought together the founding members of a movement that would become iconic in Brazilian music history: Caetano Veloso, his sister Maria Bethânia, Gilberto Gil, and Gal Costa (still under her name Maria da Graça). The show would spark an artistic relationship that would mark a generation.

She gained international exposure in the 1980s, touring Japan, France, Israel, Argentina, the United States, Portugal, Italy, among others. Gal Costa continues to be a viable and active artist in the 21st century, issuing new recorded material. However the repackaging of her previous work, which is becoming renowned in the category of Brazilian classics, is currently hitting the market by storm. Gal’s newest recording, Live at the Blue Note, features the consummate Brazilian diva performing a selection of Bossa Nova songs in an intimate setting at this New York legendary club in 2006. Delicate, yet with an underlying tough sexiness, Gal Costa's voice is the perfect vehicle for such Bossa classics as "Corcovado" and "Garota de Ipanema".

Romero Lubambo, guitar

Born in Rio de Janeiro in 1955, Romero Lubambo graduated from the Villa-Lobos School of Music in Rio in 1978, as an outstanding student of classical guitar. The rhythms and melodies defining Brazilian music and American jazz fascinated Lubambo. He taught himself through intense research and practice, developing exceptional skill, versatility and fluency in both jazz and Brazilian idioms. In 1985, Lubambo left Brazil for New York, where he became very popular, not only for his authentic Brazilian sound, but also for his command of a variety of styles.

Lubambo has established himself as a composer and performer on his recording projects and collaborations with many outstanding artists, including Diana Krall, Herbie Mann, Wynton Marsalis, Grover Washington Jr., Vernon Reid, Flora Purim and Airto Moreira, Sadao Watanabe, Paquito D'Rivera and Harry Belafonte among many others.

Sambacana

Sambacana, an exciting Brazilian music ensemble based in Canada, has been performing for Toronto's growing Brazilian community to great critical acclaim. The release of their first CD, “Nós”, features guest maestro Filó Machado, who'll be performing with them at Massey Hall.