Itaiguara Brandão

Professional session bassist, composer and guitarist, Itaiguara Brandão has over 37 years of professional experience and has toured internationally with a wide range of world-class artists such as: Dianne Reeves, Ivan Lins, Marcos Valle, Toquinho, Angelique Kidjo, Carlos Lyra, Roberto Menescal, Leny Andrade, Joyce Moreno, Randy Brecker, Dom Salvador, Paquito D'Rivera, and Paul Simon. Itaiguara has played at major venues such as the Nobel Peace Prize concert in Oslo, the Grand Hall of the Moscow Conservatory with the Moscow Symphony Orchestra, the Teatro Real in Madrid, the Zanker Hall at Carnegie Hall in New York, and the Sydney Opera House in Australia. A native of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Itaiguara is one of the most sought-after bassists in the US, having completed over 6,500 performances since he moved to New York in 1995. He graduated summa cum laude from Berklee College of Music in Boston and has a masters degree in Jazz Composition from Queens College in New York. There, he was awarded a Berklee Achievement Scholarship for musical excellence in 1995, and the Marvin Hamlisch Award in 2019. He is featured as the double-bass player in Dom Salvador's "The Art Of Samba Jazz," winner of the prestigious Premio da Musica Brasileira (the Brazilian GRAMMY®) for "Best Instrumental Album of 2011" and nominated among the three best instrumental groups of 2011Itaiguara specializes in Brazilian music, Jazz, Latin, and Funk/Soul/R&B. He records on electric bass (4-string, 5-string, and fretless) as well as on upright bass (plucked, not bowed). On electric bass he delivers the DI signal and the bass cabinet miked. On upright he provides a recording with a Geffell M930 mic and a DI from the pickup. He uses two Vintech x73i preamps. Itaiguara prefers working from charts and lead sheets. He asks music creators to provide a sample bass line or riff idea they're looking for on a separate track (audio or midi), and an audio track with no bass for the recording session.