'Brazilian Landscapes' is a tribute to the culture and memory of Brazilian people and it’s the result of years of inspiration Mario Bakuna drew upon while travelling through Brazil, experiencing its rhythmic and harmonic richness. From the arid landscape in the northeast that’s brought to the chorus of songs of Forró, Baião and Xaxado, to the African influence found in Ijexá, the popularity of Samba and the sophistication of Bossa Nova, Mario and his musicians celebrate the most musically rich territory on Earth.
Mario Bakuna is a London-based Brazilian composer, singer and guitar player, with twenty years of professional experience. He is a graduate of the Free University of Music in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Whilst there he studied with musicians such as Olmir Stocker, Roberto Sion and Roberto Bomilcar. His study focuses on the development of a music repertoire inspired by the greats of Afro-Brazilian Music, Samba, Jazz and Bossa Nova. Since settling in London Mario Bakuna became one the most prominent names and a reference of Brazilian Music in England. Mario widely performs in Europe at distinguished stages together with artists such as Jean Toussaint, Liam Noble, Ricardo dos Santos, Edmundo Carneiro, Cacau Queiroz, Alain Jean Marie, Dudu Penz, and Filó Machado. With sold-out shows and great feedback, his previous album "Where Rio de Janeiro Meets Bahia" and his new album "Brazilian Landscapes" toured 16 countries in Europe, Brazil, and Madagascar.
“Mario Bakuna, a man who exudes music. (…) ‘vocals’ doesn’t begin to do him justice: his expressive range and the precision with which he was able to deploy it was truly the band’s fifth instrument. (…) And he did this while playing guitar with precision and finesse. (…) his solos were a further source of amazement, his technique somewhere between finger-picking style and classical. His solo introduction to a Baden Powell number made a hash of any attempt at a definition.” - The Whitman Review, Wakefield Jazz
