Jazz Cycle brings Tcheka and Mário Laginha, Women and Jazz and Songs of May to Tavira

Praça da República hosts another Jazz cycle in Tavira, between the 18th and 20th of July, with Tcheka and Mário Laginha, Elas e o Jazz and Cantigas de Maio.

The Jazz series kicks off on the 18th with Tcheka and Mário Laginha. They form a musical duo founded on friendship and mutual respect for each other's music. In this concert, they bring together diverse genres and influences, presenting a repertoire of original compositions with melodies that combine guitar, piano, and vocals.

With a career spanning more than three decades, Mário Laginha is often associated with the world of jazz. But the musical universe he has built is broader, encompassing Brazilian, Indian, and African sounds, pop, rock, and the classical foundations that shaped his development.

For the artist, making music is, above all, an act of sharing. In this spirit, Tcheka is another companion on the journey, transporting him to a universe that, once again, challenges him to reinvent himself as a musician.

Born in a remote corner of Santiago Island, Cape Verde, Tcheka created a unique style that reflects the influences he received on a global scale.

His music flows naturally, resisting any attempt at easy categorization, given the references to various genres originating from Cape Verde (batuku, funaná, finason, tabanka, morna and coladera) of African jazz, folk music, blues and rock.

On the 19th, Elas e o Jazz join the Big Band da Nazaré to pay tribute to the most famous vocal trio in the history of jazz, the Andrew Sisters.

Mariana Norton, Joana Machado and Marta Hugon recreate the unmistakable vocal harmonies of sisters Patrícia, Laverne and Maxene, revisiting some of their greatest hits that, during World War II, earned them the nickname America's Sweethearts.

The Big Band of the Municipality of Nazaré was formed in 1999 and has a classical formation, consisting of five saxophones, four trumpets, four trombones, piano, guitar, bass, drums and vocals.

To conclude this Jazz in Tavira season, on July 20th, the Cantigas de Maio (May Songs) will liven up Praça da República. These songs emerge as an almost natural consequence of Bernardo Moreira's more than 30 years of musical work.

With a beginning marked by the language of jazz, a universe in which he moves to this day, he soon embarked on a dialogue with other musical genres, with other composers and performers, as evidenced by the two albums released with his sextet and in the company of singer Paula Oliveira, «Ao Paredes Confesso» and «Lisboa que Adormece», respectively.

The Cantigas de Maio (May Songs) retrace this trajectory, paying homage to the great composers who marked a turning point in the social, political, and cultural history of our country. These composers, who, among themselves, created musical and shared networks, embodying José Afonso's inspiration, but also contributing, with their own identity, to a "brand" in Portuguese music: Fausto Bordalo Dias, Vitorino Salomé, Sérgio Godinho, José Mário Branco, among others.

For this Cantigas de Maio, Bernardo Moreira invited musicians who, due to their age and musical background, represent two generations that intersect, bringing distinct paths and experiences, which allow for a more modern approach to a legacy that cannot and should not be forgotten, featuring one of the most promising singers on the Portuguese music scene: João Neves.