Quartabê (Brazil) 

Maria Beraldo – clarinet, bass clarinet

Filipe Nader – baritone & alto saxophones

Mariá Portugal – drums

Chicão – keyboards 

Quartabê's identity was built upon the classroom metaphor: the group sees itself as a school class that chooses its teachers from among great masters of Brazilian music. Assuming that the learning and creative processes have in common experimentation and play, the quartet is characterized by its bold versions and avoiding predictable paths. Their eclectic sound combines various music references - from the São Paulo avant-garde movement to pop and electronic music to free improvisation. Quartabê is composed mostly of women who, besides playing, are also composers and arrangers, which is unusual in Brazil. This sends a powerful political message in a music scene where positions of creation and power are still held mainly by men. 

The band started its studies by recording albums Lesson # 1: Moacir (2015) and Depê (2017), both dedicated to the work of Moacir Santos, the legendary Brazilian composer, arranger and conductor. With their third album Lesson # 2: Dorival (2019) they continued their "schooling" by studying the legacy of Dorival Caymmi, the founder and revolutionary creator of Brazilian popular song (música popular brasileira), whose work combines the influences of the candomblé religion and Afro-Brazilian culture, the sea and fishing in native Bahia with the urban life of Rio de Janeiro. The quartet was among the most notable showcase participants at the Jazzahead! in Bremen in 2022.

Using the themes, motifs and timbre of Caymmi's universe as the initial impulse for their research, Quartabê creates original music, taking his ideas to unknown currents. On the tenth anniversary of its existence, the band released a new album, Repescagem, this summer, once again revisiting the music of Dorival Caymmi.