Banda Mantiqueira....

"Brazilian group gives a fusion lesson."
Don Heckman, for the Los Angeles Times, on the performance of the band with OSESP at the Orange County Performing Art's Centers Segerstrom Hall, Costa Mesa - California.

"Banda Mantiqueira proves it belongs with big hitters"
Howard Reich, Chicago Tribune - Chicago, EUA

The idea behind Banda Mantiqueira came from the clarinetist, sax player, composer and arranger. Nailor Azevedo, or as he’s known in music circles, “Proveta”  The band is made up of musicians who have always been very close to him. In Brazil, it’s common knowledge that instrumental music occupies a small niche and it hasn’t been easy to keep a big band running. But, due to the great talent and competence of its musicians the band has earned great recognition and respect from critics and public, both in Brazil and abroad. In creating the band, Proveta looked for musicians who also had a desire to express Brazilian sentiment through music.

From the universe of Brazilian popular composers, Proveta has chosen some incredible pieces from great talents, such as: Pixinguinha, Tom Jobim, Jacob do Bandolim, Cartola, Nelson Cavaquinho, Ernesto Nazareth, João Bosco, Guinga, Luiz Gonzaga, Dorival Caymmi, Joyce. To this rich repertoire he added his own compositions and those of Edson Alves, all brilliantly arranged for bigband. Although the band features excellent soloists, it valorizes the sum of its musicians more than individuality.

The band started playing in bars. First for a few months, in the famous and very much missed, Sanja, home of the most talented players in São Paulo. After that, on Mondays, the band played for four years to a sold out house at "Vou Vivendo",  another venue known for good music. From 1997 to the present, the band has sold out every performance at Supremo Musical, on Tuesdays.