Rogerio Boccato

Rogerio Boccato
Yonkers, NY
Grant amount: $15,000

About the Artist

Brazilian percussionist and educator Rogério Boccato plays/recorded in projects led by some of today’s leading jazz artists, Maria Schneider, John Patitucci, Fred Hersch, Brian Blade, Kurt Elling, Danilo Perez, Renee Rosnes, and many others. He has also collaborated with top-ranking Brazilian artists, such as Toninho Horta, Moacir Santos, Zé Renato and Vinicius Cantuária. He is featured on three Grammy-award-winning albums: Kurt Elling & Danilo Perez‘s “Secrets Are The Best Stories, “The Thompson Fields” with the Maria Schneider Orchestra, and Billy Childs’ “Rebirth.” He is also featured on multiple Grammy-nominated albums, among them: Kenny Garrett’s “Beyond The Wall,” John Patitucci‘s “Remembrance“ (alongside Joe Lovano and Brian Blade), and on Alan Ferber’s “Jigsaw.“ As a longtime member of the “Orquestra Jazz Sinfônica do Estado de São Paulo,” Rogério Boccato has played with Antonio Carlos Jobim, Hermeto Pascoal, Milton Nascimento, Egberto Gismonti, João Bosco, Joe Zawinul, among many others. He has been a faculty member of the Manhattan School of Music, NYU, and The Hartt School, teaching Brazilian Music and Ritmica.

Uruguayan-born pianist, composer, and educator Nando Michelin has more than 15 albums as a leader in his discography. As a sideman, he has performed with Jerry Bergonzi, Randy Brecker, Esperanza Spalding, George Garzone, Antonio Sanchez, and with Brazilian icons Jair Rodrigues, Jamelao, Lo Borges, Geraldo Azevedo, Flavio Venturini, and Maucha Adnet. He has been a guest lecturer at several colleges in the US, Spain, Argentina, and Brazil. Nando currently teaches at Berklee College of Music and Tufts University.

Bassist/composer Jay Anderson is among the most versatile and respected jazz artists performing today. He has performed and recorded with a wide range of jazz artists, including Woody Herman, Carmen McRae, Michael Brecker, Paul Bley, Dave Liebman, Joe Sample, Maria Schneider, John Scofield, Lee Konitz, Mike Stern, Anat Cohen, Toots Thielemans, Kenny Wheeler, David Bowie, Frank Zappa, Tom Waits, Chaka Khan, Michel Legrand, and Celine Dion. He has been featured on over 400 recordings, seven of which have received the Grammy Award. He has conducted clinics worldwide and is a Professor of Jazz Bass Studies at the Manhattan School of Music in New York City.

Since moving to New York City in 2006, saxophonist, composer, and educator Dan Blake has developed a wide-ranging career as a contemporary composer and performer. Dubbed a “virtuoso” by The New York Times, Blake has released four critically acclaimed albums and has recorded and toured with leading jazz artists Esperanza Spalding, Anthony Braxton, Kenny Werner, and Danilo Pérez. He has also written chamber and orchestral works for leading ensembles in contemporary music. Dan Blake holds a Ph.D. in composition from the City University of New York and is currently on faculty at The New School and Brooklyn College.

Special guest: Native American Music Award winner flutist James Edmund Greeley has two albums as a leader. A member of The Warm Springs tribe, with Wasco and Hopi heritage, James performed at the Smithsonian National Museum of the Native American Indian in New York City.