Badi Assad

Badi Assad.

Badi Assad (born December 23, 1966) is a Brazilian singer, songwriter, percussionist and guitarist in the jazz and worldbeat genres.

Early life and education

Assad was born in the city of São João da Boa Vista in the state of São Paulo, Brazil, but grew up in Rio de Janeiro until she was twelve. Her father, Jorge Assad, of Lebanese descent, plays bandolim (mandolin), and her two older brothers are classical guitarists Sérgio Assad and Odair Assad of Duo Assad. Assad studied classical guitar at the University of Rio de Janeiro and won the Young Instrumentalists Contest (“Concurso Jovens Instrumentistas for Young Musicians”) in Rio de Janeiro in 1984.

Musical career

In 1986 she joined the Guitar Orchestra of Rio de Janeiro, headed by guitar player Turíbio Santos as conductor. In 1987, she was named “Best Brazilian Guitarist of the International Villa Lobos Festival.” By 1987 she had played in Europe, Israel and Brazil with guitarist Françoise-Emmanuelle Denis under the name Duo Romantique. She released her first solo album, Dança dos Tons, in 1988. In 1990 she was selected out of two hundred women to perform as one of two vocalists in the play Mulheres de Hollanda by Brazilian composer Chico Buarque. In 1994 she became associated with Chesky Records and produced the album Solo, followed in 1995 with Rhythms, which won Guitar Player Magazine’s readers’ poll for "Best Classical Album of the Year". Assad, who sings in English and Portuguese, was voted Best Acoustic Fingerstyle Guitarist by the editors of Guitar Player in 1995. Assad released Echoes of Brazil in 1996, her last album for Chesky, and signed with Polygram Records to release Chameleon in 1997. Her song Waves was in Spain’s top 10, and was included in the soundtrack of the 2003 film It Runs in the Family, starring Michael Douglas and Kirk Douglas.

Due to a motor disability she was unable to play between 1998 and 2001, but made a complete recovery and released a collaborative album with her former husband Jeff Young in 2002 called Nowhere, and 3 Guitars the following year for Chesky. She has played and recorded with many notable artists of diverse instrumentation, including percussionist Cyro Baptista, guitarists Pat Metheny, Larry Coryell, and John Abercrombie, and didgeridoo artist Stephen Kent.

In 2011 Assad released her first DVD, co-produced by her husband Dimitri Vakros and directed by her nephew Rodrigo Assad (son of Sérgio Assad). In the same year she was protagonist (as an actress/singer) in a opera-musical Opera das Pedras, in São Paulo, Brazil, directed by Denise Milan and Lee Breuer (Mabou Mines).

Notable performances

Badi Assad in duo with Toquinho in Cremona, Italy, Aug., 5th, 2010.

• 1988: Antagonismus a solo performance written by Badi Assad in which she worked as guitarist, singer, actress and dancer
• Mulheres de Hollanda [Women of Hollanda] - a musical written by Tatiana Cobbett, based on the works of Chico Buarque de Holanda.
• 1992: Heineken Concert (with Raul de Souza, Heraldo do Monte and Roberto Sion)
• 1993: Heineken Concert (with Rafael Rabello, Dori Caymmi and Marisa Monte)

Discography

• 1989 Danca do Tons (Dance of Sounds) (Crescente Produções)
• 1994 Solo (Chesky Records)
• 1996 Rhythms (Guitar Player's "Best Classical Album of the Year") (Chesky Records)
• 1995 Juarez Moreira & Badi Assad (Centro Cultural Banco do Brasil)
• 1997 Echos of Brazil (Chesky Records)
• 1998 Chameleon (Polygram Records)
• 2003 Three Guitars (Chesky Records)
• 2004 Ondas
• 2003 Danca das Ondas (Gha)
• 2004 Verde (Edge Music/Deutsche Grammophon)
• 2006 Wonderland (Edge Music/Deutsche Grammophon)
• 2012 Amor e Outras Manias Crônicas (YB Music)

Filmography

• 2011 Badi Assad (Biscoito Fino) DVD

References

• Guitar Alive Interview

External links

• Official Badi Assad website
• Badi Assad MySpace