Mario Bakuna on acoustic guitar and vocals
Tristan Banks on drums

Duo performance in which Mario Bakuna invites Tristan Banks to present the repertoire of the album 'Where Rio de Janeiro Meets Bahia', recorded in Paris, which brings together the Afro-Brazilian rhythms of the Recôncavo Baiano and the charm and subtlety of Bossa Nova. The show is a trip to Rio de Janeiro, cradle of Bossa Nova, and to Bahia, the city that best represents the powerful African influence in Brazilian music. The concert integrates the rhythmic roots of Brazilian music and its sophisticated harmonies in a beautiful duo show that celebrates great Brazilian composers such as Dorival Caymmi and Tom Jobim. Mario and Tristan promise to transport the audience to a place where the real and the imaginary are experienced and enhanced by poetry and music.

Mario Bakuna is a Brazilian artist currently based in London, UK. Over the past few years, he has emerged as a leading figure and a reference in the Brazilian Jazz Music scene in England. Bakuna and his band have extensively performed in Europe and beyond, playing at distinguished venues and festivals across 18 European countries, Brazil, Madagascar, and Azerbaijan, with sold-out concerts and great acclaim.

Following his first album ‘Where Rio de Janeiro Meets Bahia’, Mario’s most recent release is 'Brazilian Landscapes' which 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 of the northeast, which is reflected in 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 Bakuna and his musicians celebrate the most musically rich territory on Earth.

“Mario Bakuna, a sparkling guitarist, plays with palpable feeling - his virtuosic fluency on the fretboard is controlled and flourishes are perfectly placed. His voice has a texture like heavy cloth”. -Songlines Magazine

“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

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Euronews TV - Baku Jazz Festival 2023, featuring Mario Bakuna