20 South Productions Inc.     Beleza Brasil

 

Beleza Brasil 

United by musical interests that include jazz, blues, bossa nova, soul, samba, funk and Spanish flamenco; MADELINE HOLLY SALES and HUMBERTO OLIVEIRA SALES joined forces to blend the melodic, rhythmic and harmonic riches from North and South America. They met at the Federal University of Bahia in Salvador, Bahia Brazil where he had been teaching for eight years. Berto, native to Salvador, brought all of the rhythmic riches of what attracts so many international tourists to the hip-swinging, samba shaking streets of Brazil during carnival. His formal education in classical guitar and study of Spanish Flamenco added the elegance and poise that is so undeniable when he enters the stage.   Madeline brought with her the strong influence of jazz, soul and salsa. She sings in Portuguese, English and Spanish. Her sensual, rich voice; playful interpretations and strong stage presence make their combination extremely unique. In 2002 they began performing with larger ensembles at popular night venues in Salvador such as The French Quartier and Salvador Dali as well as in major theaters and music festivals like Mercado Cultural and Semanario Internacional de Musica.

In 2004 MADELINE and BERTO spent six months touring the Mediterranean and Aegean coasts of Turkey and were invited to close the season in Vienna, Austria. They performed as both a duo and as part of an eight-member ensemble playing Latin jazz, salsa and samba. The duo currently resides in Charlottesville, VA and continues to play unique arrangements of a variety of classics made famous by artists like Ella, Jobim, Sinatra, Aretha Franklin, Gilberto and Ibrahim Ferrer. They can play as a duo or with larger ensembles.

Listen to the following songs:

Vatapa
Summertime
Rio
El Pescado
Lullaby of Birdland
A Ra
Ain’t no Sunshine
Bulerias
Tanguillos