The concert by the Luca Velotti Quartet at the Teatro Amazonas in Manaus on Saturday night closed the “Moonray” Brazilian tour, a musical journey accompanied by melodies, songs and storytelling. The tour by the Luca Velotti Quartet featured their personal and contemporary reinterpretation of jazz music by Armstrong, Bechet, Goodman and by great American composers like Hoagy Carmichael and Duke Ellington, combined with original compositions, and stopped in four Brazilian cities: Brasilia (10 September), Recife (11 September), San Paolo (13 September) and Manaus, where they received broad public acclaim. On Sunday, the Quartet also held a masterclass for the students of the Liceu das Artes in Manaus.
A versatile musician, saxophonist and clarinettist and member of Paolo Conte’s Band who has also often performed with Nicola Piovani, Luca Velotti has participated in many international jazz festivals and developed his creative compositions for several soundtracks and ads on TV and the cinema, and has also worked with Ennio Morricone and Armando Trovajoli. The other members of the Quartet are Gerardo Bartoccini (double bass), Michele Ariodante (seven-string guitar and lead singer) and Carlo Battisti (drums).
Convinced that the many ties that bind Italy and Brazil include a very significant musical and artistic relationship, the Italian Embassy organises evenings with big names from the Italian music scene. As for all the other “Segundas musicais” events, also “Moonray’s” stop in Brasilia was organised by the Italian Embassy in Brasilia in partnership with the Clube do Choro of Brasilia.
Look at the video of Moonray: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nGDQq0aXbsA
