WELCOME TO
HEARTBEAT BRAZIL
HEARTBEAT BRAZIL – HEAR THE WORLD!
Launched in mid-2014, the Brazilian Jazz Ensemble “Heartbeat Brazil” had a truly incredible start.
After two completely sold-out show premieres at Typhoon restaurant and Vibrato Grill & Jazz, more than 2 hours of energetic, moving and sophisticated original music as well as truly innovative covers of songs by Ivan Lins and Caetano Veloso etc. — it was clear that something extraordinary had been born.
The audience included industry legends such as multi-platinum winning songwriter Allan Rich, Tony and Grammy nominated Songwriter, Brenda Russell – and the one and only Quincy Jones!!
Fast forward to the 2017 summer season: Susan Hartnett Davis, creative director of the Laguna Festival Of The Arts performance series declares HeartBeat Brazil’s show a summer favorite – and books the band for twice the shows for the summer of 2017 – continues to want the band back until the present (2019)!
Pasadena Weekly chooses HeartBeat Brazil’s show as Pick Of The Week.
The band gets featured on the KTLA 7 NEWS entertainment calendar. Next, nearly 1000 people flock to Descanso Gardens to enjoy the summer concert series and become fans of HeartBeat Brazil. Over 3,000 folks at the Huntington Library enjoy the flowing, sensual and nourishing energy emanating from any stage HeartBeat Brazil broadcasts it’s magic show from.
“Stephan Oberhoff and HeartBeat Brazil gave us an evening that overflowed with excellence...
Their ease in moving from reflective, tender moments to highly charged and thrilling displays of artistry made the guided tour they led to Brazil’s musical richness a great success as we launched our community concert series”
Jeff Daignault, Musical Director of St. Joseph’s Parish, Zephyrhills, FL
Passionate instrumentalists love a song where they can stretch and improvise their heart out – as you can witness in this 9 minute power performance.
It also shows the strong emphasis on the driving rhythms which are (for those who know the styles) very danceable!
FEATURED VIDEO
Band leader Stephan was also able to recruit Sao Paolo’s JP Mourao (of Keiko Matsui’s band) who joined the band as featured performer for this joyous show at Laguna Festival Of The Arts on August 4th of 2019!!
“A MAGNIFICENT CONCERT OF THE FIRST ORDER”
GRAMMY AND TONY NOMINATED SONGWRITER/ SINGER BRENDA RUSSELL
“Heartbeat Brazil” DAZZLE at the world famous Catalina Jazz Club in Los Angeles!!
Large visual screens displayed gorgeous photographic sequences of Brazilian beaches, beautiful people, sunrises, and sunsets synced to Oberhoff’s bossa nova compositions. Vocals, and instrumentals were backed by spectacular woodwindist Robert Kyle, cellist Matt Cooker, and propulsive percussionists Simon Carroll and Clarice Cast…
In the audience and loving it were singers Melissa Manchester, Amanda McBroom, George Ball, and keyboard artists John Proulx and Michele Brourman. A lovely circle of friends and admirers!
by Norton Wright
Ijexa, Above: outstanding attendance and reception at Laguna Festival Of The Arts, Descanso Gardens in La Canada Flintridge, Herb Alpert’s Vibrato Club, Catalina Jazz Club, Typhoon in Santa Monica during summer and fall concerts in the Los Angeles area.
Following the motto, “Community in Rhythm,” HEARTBEAT BRAZIL is an uplifting Brazilian extravaganza with energetic light show and video presentation – bringing the streets and culture and rhythm of Brazil to America.
The sounds of HEARTBEAT BRAZIL are inspired by the iconic Brazilian musical poets Ivan Lins, Dori Caymmi, Caetano Veloso, Milton Nascimento, Guinga and many others, drawing from a wide variety of Brazilian styles such as Samba, Bossa Nova, Brazilian Pop (MPB), Ijexa, Maracatu and even the fiery Frevo.
HeartBeat Brazil’s show is an extraordinary and exciting event that captures the frenzy, energy and pulse of Brazil’s streets and it’s complex culture – with the strength and muscle of American popular music and jazz – masterfully blended together into a unique and accessible sound.
All musicians of the HEARTBEAT BRAZIL have performed and toured with the world’s biggest entertainers such as Quincy Jones, Stevie Wonder, Al Jarreau, Brenda Russell, Jeffrey Osborne, Melissa Manchester and many others.
“BEAUTIFUL, ORIGINAL MUSIC IN THE BRAZILIAN TRADITION.
THE MUSICIANSHIP WAS SUPERB. EVERYONE ENJOYED THE NIGHT TREMENDOUSLY!”
PAT SENATORE, ARTISTIC DIRECTOR OF HERB ALPERT’S VIBRATO GRILL & JAZZ
Original Samba Composition
Uptempo Music Reel
Original Afoxe in 6/8 !
Original Maracatu Funk
Original Bossa Studio Session
Exclusive Promotional Video
“STEPHAN OBERHOFF IS A MUSICAL VISIONARY.
THE SOUNDS AND SONGS OF BRAZIL WHISPERED TO HIM — AND HEARTBEAT BRAZIL WAS BORN.
LUSH AND LUSCIOUS MUSIC ARE THE SONGS OF HIS HEART.”
MELISSA MANCHESTER, OSCAR-NOMINATED AND GRAMMY-WINNING SINGER / SONGWRITER
STEPHAN OBERHOFF, Band Leader, Keyboards, Guitar, Vocals, Percussion
Stephan’s decades of work and touring as musical director of music icons such as Melissa Manchester, Brenda Russell, Jeffrey Osborne (a small excerpt of an extensive list of music industry giants) and his more than 10 years of travel and studying in Brazil have culminated in the creation of HeartBeat Brazil.
Revered and beloved by an abundance of music industry legends and notables, Stephan has uniquely crisscrossed the worlds of producer, musician, songwriter, arranger, sound engineer – and consummate artist.
Recent production and studio credits include a long collaboration with the iconic producer, Quincy Jones and, most recently, with acclaimed artist and producer, Ron Dante.
Stephan reported that a deeply formative experience was a sold out show at House Of Blues in 1998 by Ivan Lins: “I suddenly felt as if I had wings – I knew in that very instant, that I wanted to share this experience with my own audience!
Brazil’s flowing, pulsing and joyous energy and the intense encounters with deep melodic and harmonic juxtaposition opened the creative floodgates for me – like nothing else before!! “
Read his full bio on his website: Stephan Oberhoff Introduction
ROBERT KYLE, saxophone, flutes, percussion
Robert’s performance & recording credits include work with Cee Lo Green, Natalie Cole, Michael McDonald, Johnny Mathis, Jason Mraz, Chaka Khan, Michael Bolton, Linda Ronstadt, Carole King, Kenny Loggins, Brenda Russell, Lou Rawls, Seu Jorge, Googoosh, Adam Levine, Christina Aguilera, Pharrell, Blake Shelton, Babyface, Della Reese, Chaka Khan, Francisco Aguabella, Pete Escovedo, Jessica Simpson, Al McKibbon, Billy Mitchell, Roy “Guitar” Gaines and many others.
It was the spontaneous improvisations at Stephan’s studio, called “Sound Baths” by Robert and Stephan, which led to many of the exciting new compositions performed by HeartBeat Brazil.
Much of the new material on the new CD “Applauding The Sunset” has been lovingly created by the two veteran writers.
SIMON CARROLL, percussion, drums
Simon is a music director, performer, and composer for Viver Brasil – an Afro Brazilian dance company.
He leads/co-leads bands MôForro (Brazilian Forró), Marbella (Original Brazilian Jazz-Pop), Os Zagueiros (Samba Rock/Samba Soul), and Bloco Nove (Brazilian Celebration Music), and is a member of Samba Society (Vintage Samba), and Delta Nove (World Funk).
Simon is a classically trained musician at California State University of Northridge in Orchestral Percussion, Jazz, and Composition.
He also holds the position of timpanist for the Música Angélica Baroque Orchestra, which tours internationally with the opera The Giacomo Variations, starring John Malkovich.
MATT COOKER, Violoncello
Master Cellist Matt Cooker holds Bachelors and Masters degrees from the University of Michigan, where he played in master classes of Rostropovich and Piatigorsky.
A tenured member of the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, Matt has also played in international orchestras in Sacramento, Toledo, and the Teatro alla Scala in Milan, Italy.
Matt’s teaching credentials include U of M extensions, ISOMATA, the Henry Mancini Institute, and CalArts. Matt Cooker is a veteran recording artist who has worked on over 500 major motion pictures and recorded for Barbra Streisand, Paul McCartney, Christina Aguilera, Mariah Carey, Neil Diamond, and many others.
LARRY STEEN, Electric and Acoustic Bass
First place winner of the esteemed International Society of Bassists’ Jazz Competition, Larry received a Master of Fine Arts from California Institute of the Arts (CALARTS), as well as a Bachelor of Music from the University of Miami after attending the world renowned Berklee College of Music.
Larry has performed with Stevie Wonder, Gladys Knight, Dionne Warwick, Mel Torme, Ella Fitzgerald, Barry Manilow, Melissa Manchester and Jimmy Buffet, as well as Brazilian artists Flora Purim, Airto Moreira, Guinga and Chico Pinheiro, among others.
His accomplishments include two award-winning, world jazz releases, ‘First Move’ and ‘View From Afar’ featuring Ernie Watts, Dave Weckl, Robben Ford and Russell Ferrante. He has also recorded on a plethora of other artists’ albums, as well as for film, TV and radio, including the nationally syndicated, radio show, A Prairie Home Companion.
He currently co-leads Sip of Soul, a soul-R&B project with his wife, vocalist Nikki Steen.
“AN EVENING IN THE COMPANY OF HEARTBEAT BRAZIL IS A TICKET TO THE CENTER OF BRAZIL’S MUSICAL SOUL!!”
AMANDA MCBROOM, ICONIC CABARET PERFORMER AND WRITER OF “THE ROSE”
READY TO BOOK? CALL OUR HOTLINE AT: (818) 293-7938
Find out how HeartBeat Brazil can present an engaging and fun, yet deeply informative learning experience to music student classes of all levels !
CD-RELEASE OF “APPLAUDING THE SUNSET”
Find out about the new album, the source of almost all of HEARTBEAT BRAZIL’S material on this special page. The story behind the album, credits and session pics are all available: