Badi Assad at Ethno Jazz Festival: Brazilian guitar, vocals and worldbeat sounds

Ethno Jazz Festival is honoured to invite you to a concert by outstanding Brazilian guitarist and singer Badi Assad. The concert will take place on 9 March as part of the World Music at the White Stork Synagogue series.

Badi Assad (born 23 December 1966) is a Brazilian singer, songwriter, percussionist and guitarist working in jazz and worldbeat.

She was born in São João da Boa Vista in Brazil's São Paulo state, but lived in Rio de Janeiro until she was twelve. Her father, Jorge Assad, of Lebanese origin, plays mandolin, while her two older brothers are classical guitarists Sérgio Assad and Odair Assad, the internationally renowned Duo Assad.

Assad studied classical guitar at Rio de Janeiro University. In 1984, she won first prize at Rio’s “Concurso Jovens Instrumentistas for Young Musicians”. She joined Guitar Orchestra of Rio de Janeiro in 1986 under guitarist Turíbio Santos. In 1987, she was named Best Guitarist at Brazil’s International Villa-Lobos Festival. By 1987, she had performed in Europe, Israel and Brazil with guitarist Françoise-Emmanuelle Denis as Duo Romantique.

In 1988, she created Antagonismus, a solo performance in which she appeared as guitarist, singer, actress and dancer. That year, she released her first solo album, Dança dos Tons. In 1989, she beat almost two hundred rivals to become one of two singers in Tatiana Cobbett’s musical Mulheres de Hollanda, based on Chico Buarque de Hollanda’s work. Badi Assad also appeared at the Heineken concerts in 1992 with Raul de Souza, Heraldo do Monte and Roberto Sion, and in 1993 with Rafael Rabello, Dori Caymmi and Marisa Monte.

In 1994, she joined Chesky Records and produced Solo, followed in 1995 by Rhythms, named “Best Classical Album of the Year” by Guitar Player Magazine readers. In 1995, Badi Assad, who sings in English and Portuguese, was named Best Acoustic Fingerstyle Guitarist by Guitar Player's editors.

Between 1998 and 2001, she suffered a motor impairment that prevented her from playing. After making a full recovery, she released Nowhere with her former husband Jeff Young in 2002, followed a year later by 3 Guitars on Chesky. Her track Waves reached number five in the Spanish charts and was used on the soundtrack of Wszystko w rodzinie, starring Michael Douglas and Kirk Douglas. She has played and recorded with many acclaimed instrumentalists, including percussionist Cyro Baptista, guitarists Pat Metheny, Larry Coryell and John Abercrombie, and didgeridoo player Stephen Kent on Chameleon.

▶