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Haroldo Mauro Jr. is a Brazilian born pianist with a lengthy career devoted to the performance of jazz and bossa-nova. Carrying his own native musical heritage, and with a solid bebop-oriented jazz background acquired during his two-decade stay in the US — where he came into close social contact with jazz musicians and shared the stand with renowned players in such rooms as the Blue Note, Village Gate and others in New York City — Mr. Mauro has developed a style of his own through the combined influences of American and Brazilian musicians such as Barry Harris, João Donato, Bill Evans and Raul de Souza. |
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Born in 1949, he started classical piano at the age of six and later became interested in bossa-nova, jazz and the drum set. While still very young in Rio de Janeiro, he worked steadily with leading artists of the late sixties: drummer Edison Machado, alto saxophonist Victor Assis Brasil and singer/composer Marcos Valle (Summer Samba). In 1972 he moved to Boston to attend Berklee College of Music, where he met and jammed, both as pianist and drummer, with such musicians as Joe Lovano, Brian Torff, John Scofield, Billy Drews, Harvey Schwarz, Andy LaVerne and others, who also lived and studied in Boston. In 1976 he moved to New York City. Played in bars, theaters, parties, restaurants and jazz clubs working extensively with practically every Brazilian musician and singer in New York. Worked also with the Slide Hampton & Claudio Roditi Brazilian Explosion quintet. Worked as the regular pianist for several years with Thiago de Mello's Amazon Band, a large group that gathered a number of accomplished musicians throughout its existence. While at that job, Mr. Mauro met and played with Bobby Sanabria, Dennis Irwin, Dick Oats, Paquito de Rivera, Romero Lubambo, Conrad Herwig and others. Still in New York he received his Bachelor's and Master's Degree in classical composition from Manhattan School of Music, studied aesthetics and education at the Aesthetic Realism Foundation and was a guest lecturer at Pace University. Back in Brazil, Mr. Mauro shares his time between performance and academic activities. He is a full-time faculty at the University of Rio de Janeiro, leads his own trio and performs also with a jazz sextet of students from his institution. His trio CD Bossa na pressão (Steaming Bossa), released by Delira Música label of Rio de Janeiro, has been choosen one of the top ten jazz albums of 2006 by All About Jazz reviwer Dan McClenaghan. He also travels regularly to the US to play and present workshops.
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Press release (artist)
Savon Edwards, JazzReview.com
