Dani Gurgel and Debora Gurgel’s hypnotic bliss is the result of their long established musical intimacy. Dani Gurgel’s syncopated and precise scatting vocals are stitched along Debora Gurgel’s left hand piano grooves. They sound dynamic and energetic, filled with the delight of Brazilian music, swirled by Jazz improvisation, and electrified by their constant interaction amongst themselves and with the audience.
Dani Gurgel’s „scatted vocal adventures“ (Jazzthetik) over her “fantastic syllabary“ (Badische Zeitung, Germany) are a mix of the percussive sounds of Brazil with the swaying curves of jazz, leading to “groovy, with fast prosody and mind blowing improvisation” (Estado de SP). Dani began her musical rhapsody as a 3-year-old and grew up searching for her instrument, under the tutelage of her mother, Debora Gurgel. After 15 years of playing the bass in rock bands and the saxophone in renowned big bands, Dani Gurgel finally found her own instrument: her voice. Her singing relates to her bass grooves, her saxophone articulations, and Brazilian percussion. “Debora Gurgel’s piano is highly refined. She thinks like a jazz musician, but won’t hide her Brazilian accent” (Estado de SP). Debora Gurgel connects her strong roots and improvisation into Brazilian contemporary music, and applies it to her untamed piano grooves. Debora is also a composer and arranger, writing her own music and commissioned pieces for Brazil’s main orchestras.
For the past decade, Dani & Debora have released 8 albums with their “Dani & Debora Gurgel Quarteto”, which was nicknamed “DDG4” by their Japanese fans. Joined by Big Rabello (production & drums) and Sidiel Vieira (bass), they have been awarded the Brazilian Music Professionals and Japan’s Best Brazilian album awards multiple times, as well as Digital Innovation Prize and Cultural Action Program, and toured extensively through Japan, South America and Europe.
Their DDG4 has now been stretched into the DDG19 Big Band – the sum of DDG4, 5 saxophones, 4 trombones, 4 trumpets and 2 more flutes. With stunning arrangements by Debora Gurgel and Big Rabello’s contemporary music production, their original music is multiplied by 19 of Brazil’s finest musicians into a breathtaking record that fills one’s ears with delight. They fly through northeastern baião in “Rodopio” (dance-related word for “twirl”), fast-tempo sambas with empowering lyrics such as “Podicrê” (“you bet”), contemporary pieces with odd ostinatos and leaping melodies as “36-47”, and a unique mixture on the triptych “Três Luas” (“three moons”). Debora’s encounter with Chick Corea is narrated on “Quiet Little Lady”, a samba jazz piece written as a tribute to her master, who used to refer to her as the “quiet little lady from Brazil who blew us away”. The blend of Brazil and contemporary jazz is celebrated on the multi-faceted “Sem Fronteiras” (“borderless”), a 7/8 piece that brings us in a voyage of Dani and Debora’s Brasilities throughout the entire world.
DDG19 also features the acclaimed Bay Area trombonist Natalie Cressman as a special guest on “Dá Licença”, a spirited samba from Dani’s first album that led to the beginning of the Gurgel-Cressman friendship over a decade ago, when Natalie played it on her graduation recital at Manhattan School of Music. They also welcome electric bass virtuoso Michael Pipoquinha to “Veredas”, composed especially for him and sharpened by Dani’s zesty scat singing interaction with Pipoquinha throughout the piece.
The band debuted at Blue Note São Paulo in December 2023, along with their first single release and featuring Michael Pipoquinha. The full DDG19 Big Band album will be released on February 23rd 2024, following a pre-sale through Da Pá Virada label’s website and Bandcamp from Feb 2nd and the single “Dá Licença” on Feb 9th. As DDG4 follows to their USA tour in February 2024, DDG19 will be the theme of their residency at Berklee School of Music, culminating in a concert at the Berklee Performance Center; and they will join the Bay Area Electric Squeezebox Orchestra in order to perform a DDG19 concert at the California Jazz Conservatory, featuring Sandy and Natalie Cressman.
