Brazilian Musician Fernando Brandão signs to Blue Music Group

NEW YORK – Blue Music Group has announced that award-winning Brazilian flutist, composer and author Fernando Brandão has signed to Blue Music Group. His debut album on the label is called Samba Pra Juju, which features fellow Brazilian artists, singer Luciana Souza, guitarist Sergio Brandão, saxophonist Felipe Salles, and other familiar artists on Blue Music Group, bassist Fernando Huergo and pianist Nando Michelin.

Fernando Brandão has been equally involved with classical music and jazz throughout his career. Born in Rio de Janeiro, much of his career has been conducted from the United States. He leads the Fernando Brandão Septet and he has performed and recorded with Luciana Souza, Weber Iago, Sergio Brandão, Teresa Inês, Nando Michelin and Bruno Råberg. He is the music director and arranger of the highly successful Brazilian folk group, Brasileirinho, with performances at jazz festivals throughout the United States. He also led the band Bohemia Carioca (Brazilian choros, maxixes and ballroom dance sambas) and performed with Toninho Horta, Bill Pierce, George Garzone, Marta Gómez, Julio Santillán and Bambule, Altamiro Carrilho, Leni Andrade, Leandro Braga and many others. As a soloist and chamber musician, he has performed in duo with pianist Maria Teresa Madeira throughout Brazil. He performed with the most prominent Brazilian orchestras including the Orquestra Sinfônica Brasileira, and the symphony orchestras of São Paulo, Campinas, Brasília, Minas Gerais and Curitiba. In the United States he has performed solo flute with the New England Conservatory Orchestra, Longy School of Music orchestra, The Emmanuel Music Orchestra under music director Craig Smith and guest conductor Seiji Ozawa. Brandão is the author of the improvisational etude series Brazilian and Afro-Cuban Jazz Conception, published in 2006 by Advance Music. He has also written an exercise book for beginners and a contributor with articles about choro music published by the Greater Boston Flute Association.

Brandão has won several competitions in Brazil, including the Brazilian Young Concert Artists, Espírito Santo Symphony Orchestra Soloists, and the Brazilian Music National Competition. In Boston he won first prize in the Pappoutsakis Flute Competition.