Andre Mehmari, Brazilian Pianist and Composer – The Great Brazilian Songbook

Kerrytown Concert House is excited to welcome back Brazilian pianist and composer Andre Mehmari, in a solo performance entitled The Great Brazilian Songbook! 

Just as the Great American Songbook catalogs the sublime and varied literature of North American popular music that jazz musicians so often use as the basis of their repertoire and improvisations, Mehmari will create suites that summarize entire eras of Brazilian music: the birth of choro and samba, the samba-cancao tradition which opened the way for bossa nova, the music of the Brazilian northeast, the instrumental music of Egberto Gismonti and Hermeto Pascoal, and a modern view of Brazilian song including his own contributions to the Songbook. Along the way, he will show relationships between the two songbooks (Brazilian and American) as they influenced each other. 

Finally, Mehmari will ask the audience to help him create improvised suites, asking for your suggestions – favorite tunes and songs, composers, ideas of any kind – that he will spin into a one-time-only, spontaneous creation. Be ready to share the music you love!