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Overview of the Week
Eiffel Tower

SMJ-Paris 2025

APRIL 23 - 27, 2025

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Samba Meets Jazz Workshops invites instrumentalists, vocalists and tap dancers to:

STUDY 5 hours daily with a stellar faculty


PERFORM at a Paris Jazz Club


EXPLORE the music, sights, cuisine, and people of this magical city


CONNECT with like-minded adults & world-renowned muscians

Jazz & Brazilian 5-Day Intensive 

Overview of the Week 

SMJ-PARIS 5-day instructional program includes and integrates: 

  • Brazilian Styles (Samba, Partido Alto, Bossa Nova, Baião, music of Northeast Brazil, Choro)

  • Brazilian Phrasing & Articulation 

  • Brazilian Rhythmic Explorations through percussion 

  • Instrumental Ensembles 

  • Vocal Coaching - repertoire, song interpretation, phrasing, Portuguese pronunciation for participants singing in Portuguese

  • Harmony & Improvisation 

  • Rhythm Section Lab

  • Batucada (Carnaval percussion) 

  • Jamming with faculty 

  • Public performance 

 

Faculty

FACULTY - PARIS 


NILSON MATTA  - Artistic/Music Director 

Multi-Grammy nominee / virtuoso bassist Nilson Matta has been a creative force in the evolution and popularity of Brazilian Jazz in the United States.  Not long after he came to New York from Brazil in 1985, he was performing and recording with Grammy-winning jazz greats Joe Henderson, Don Pullen, Kenny Barron, Paul Winter, Sadao Watanabi, Paquito D’Rivera and Randy Brecker, as well as Herbie Mann, Lee Konitz and Mark Murphy.   Drawing from these collaborations, and from his work with Brazilian luminaries such as João Bosco, Oscar Castro Neves, Hermeto Pascoal, Chico Buarque, MPB4, João Gilberto, Luis Bonfa, Leny Andrade and Johnny Alf in Brazil to name a few, Matta has developed his own musical signature making him a first-call bass player of Brazilian music and jazz musicians

 CHICO PINEHIRO 

Born and raised in São Paulo,  two-time Grammy nominee Chico started working as a studio session guitarist at age 14.  He was  soon called to collaborate with a wide range of artists in Brazil and abroad.  Today, Chico  is considered a leading figure both in and outside the Brazilian music scene, having distinguished himself as a guitarist, composer, and arranger.   Alongside his main projects as leader,  he  has collaborated with such artists such as Placido Domingo,  Brad Mehldau, Dave Grusin, Kenny Werner,  Bob Mintzer, Herbie Hancock,  The Paris Jazz Big Band,,  Julian Lage & Steve Cardenas, Esperanza Spalding, Joyce, Ivan Lins, Rosa Passos, Dori Caymmi, Danilo Caymmi, João Donato, Johnny Alf, and the list goes on and on! 

 

   CATARINA DOS SANTOS

Catarina dos Santos, vocalist, educator, songwriter, and sound artist,  integrates Portuguese Brazilian and Africa.n roots.  Her passion for Jazz took her to NYC,where she studied jazz performance at The City College of New York, and orchestration at the The Julliard School.  While there,  she was lead singer for Nation Beat which fused North Easter Brazilian Maracatu and New Orleans Second Line,  and performed with Latin greats such as Montego Joe.  As composer/producer she has received funding from The Rockefeller Foundation. Catarina has performed extensively, including The Blue Note and Joe’s Pub (NYC), and at multiple jazz festivals including New Orleans and Stowe.  She  is the lead Vocal Jazz teacher at Lisbon's National Conservatory  and teaches Theory and Ear Training  at EMARTE.  Adding to her artistry, Catarina is a uniquely talented scatter, as well as percussionist.    

FELIPE GALGANNI 
 

FELIPE GALGANNI
Venue
Schedule

Originally from Brazil, Felipe Galganni has spent the last 20 years choreographing, producing, performing, and teaching as a tap dancer in NYC and in Brazil.  Felipe is a recipient of the Machado de Assis Medal for his work disseminating Brazilian culture in NYC, and most recently a Bistro Award recipient for Unique Jazz Presentation, with his BOSSA TAP TRIO.  

He has been a faculty member at Steps on Broadway for more than 12 years and has instructed at various dance festivals, including Tap City, Tap Kids, and the Joffrey Tap Intensive, as well as at institutions such as Vassar College and the Juilliard School. Felipe served as an artist in residence at The American Tap Dance Foundation, where he created new choreography for over a decade until the organization ceased operations in 2024.

Felipei has performed and toured tap dancing with two Grammy-winning artists  - “Tim Kubart and the Space Cadets'',  as well as legendary Brazilian bassist Nilson Matta.  Felipe has been seen in dance works by his mentor, Brenda Bufalino, as well as Michelle Dorrance, Derick K. Grant, Heather Cornell, Max Pollak and Lisa La Touche

         and MORE TBA! 

Instructional Schedule & Venue 

Our week will commence with an optional welcome dinner on Tuesday night.  Classes (Wednesday - Sunday) will culminate in a performance on Sunday night at a Paris club.   The instrutional schedule will allow ample time to partake in Paris' cultural eplorations, as well as its cuisine and night

Instrumental & vocal schedule includes approximately 5 hours per day; tap dance includes 4 hours daily.  Sessions will typically be held in the afternoon, with flexibility to move instrction to the morning to accommodate sightseeing.  Daily instructional hours will be finalized and posted mid-January. 

INSTRUCTIONAL VENUE 

Classes will be held at STUDIO BLEU rehearsal / recording studios and dance studios (see below).  

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Lodging

Lodging

As per the map below, Studio Bleu music and dance studios are a few minutes walk from each other -- in the 9eme and 10eme arrondissements.

Studio Bleu Music:   7 R. des Petites Écuries  

Studio Bleu Dance:   14/16 boulevard Poissonnière.

Studio Bleu is easily accessible either by Uber or by public transportation -- from St. Germain de Pres, Le Marais, the Latin Quarter - neighborhoods which offer an array of cafés and restaurants so characteristic of Paris charm, as well as central to the 1st and 2nd arrondissements  

   
 

The Insiders Guide to Paris Neighborhoods, along with the map below,  is a good way to  familiarize yourself with the various neighborhoods. ​​​​​   

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Travel & Costs

Program Costs & Policies

PRICES, INCLUDING DiSCOUNTS FOR INTERNATIONAL PARTICIPANTS, TBA 

CANCELLATION POLICY

Due to the small size of the program (approximately 10-18 participants), refunds will not be possible should you need to cancel.  We therefore highly recommend that attendees purchase trip insurance in the event of an emergency.

 

                                                                      COVID POLICIES 

 

By completion of registration form, registrants agree to follow Samba Meets Jazz Workshops Covid protocols, and those of our instructional venue Vila Musical.   At this point in time masking and testing are not required.   Vaccinations are also not required. 

Register
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