José Melo Music Productions & Management is a booking agency based in Amsterdam, working since 1998 at artistic and cultural music development all over the world.
We look for a good relationship with theatres and festivals worldwide. Our acts can be found spread from clubs, to great halls and festivals.
We also work as advisors on current trends in music from Portugal and the Portuguese diaspora.
Use our bookingoffice to book one of our artists. On our site you can find all artist information like biography, discography and photography. You can listen to the music of our artists and also buy online.
The Brazilian born singer-songwriter CEUMAR creates her own music since 1995, from the moment she arrived in São Paulo. She already produced four own albums and participates actively in varied projects and collectives in Brazil and abroad.
Brazil
In the last five years she has performed in Curitiba (Paiol, Guairinha), Itajaí - SC (Festival de Inverno), Porto Alegre (Santander Cultural), Campinas, Rio de Janeiro (projeto Novo Canto, projeto Bolsa Nova), Belém (SESC DOCA), São Luís (Circo da Cidade), Ceará (BNB Clube de Fortaleza e SESC Crato), Brasília (CCBB, Feitiço Mineiro), Belo Horizonte (TIM Mov. Perc -2005) and in São Paulo - capital and countryside.
In 2005 she took part of the Projeto Pixinguinha in a tour for eight cities up to the North/Central regions of Brazil. She was also present in Festival Cultura promoted by Cultura TV Channel, with the song "ACHOU!", by Dante Ozzetti and Luiz Tatit getting the second prize with that performance.
Europe
Since 2006 she has been performing in the Netherlands and Belgium with the Mike Del Ferro Trio. In the period between October 2006 and February 2009 they have been performing a lot in Holland and Belgium. Highlights were the shows at the Royal Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Tropentheater Amsterdam and several performances for National Dutch TV (Vrije Geluiden - VPRO) and National Radio 5 / 6. In 2009 Ceumar will release a live recorded cd with this trio. Style: Brazilian & Jazz.
Since 2008 Ceumar also performs with an international cross-cultural group called Kokoura. We can say that Burkina Faso meets Senegal in Europe and Brazil! This band is influenced by soul, samba, desert blues and traditional African music and blends all these flavors into a delicate and warm sound.
Ceumar and the brothers Moussa and Adama Dembélé from Burkina Faso add their voices to this unique sounding group from three continents.
Ceumar -as a solo-artist- also performed in France, London, Portugal,(Lisboa) and Spain (occasionally accompanied by saxophonist Ben Mendes).
Central America
Ceumar performed in Mexico with Dante Ozzetti and group and in September 2007, she participated in Festival de La Musica Viva de VIC - BARCELONA. Yet in 2007 she performed in the Festival Internacional da Lusofonia "Cantos na Maré", em Pontevedra-Galícia. In 2008, she already presented "ACHOU!" nine times at SESC SP together with Dante Ozzetti and Group.
Bio
Ceumar kreeg bij haar geboorte een prachtige naam. 'Céu' betekent hemel, 'mar' betekent zee. En zo klinkt haar stem ook: eenvoudig en natuurlijk, nooit opdringerig, aards en hemels tegelijkertijd. Opgegroeid met de Musica Popular Brasileira (MPB) van grootheden als Chico Buarque en Caetano Velosom, waarin invloeden uit de jazz en soul samensmelten met de meer traditionele samba-stijl, vormt deze nu de proteïne van haar eigen muziek. Ook de muziek van haar geboortestaat Minas Gerais - met name die van Milton Nascimento - was vormend voor de eigen stijl die Ceumar ontwikkelde.
Het geluid van Ceumars heldere, verfijnde stem en gitaar gaat zeer naturel samen met de sound van het Mike del Ferro Trio. De openheid van Del Ferro's pianospel, de Braziliaanse swing en stuwende funky drive van drummer Olaf Keus en bassist Frans van der Hoeven vormen een strakke en hechte ondergrond.
Soms gaan de dingen gewoon zoals ze moeten gaan. Toen Ceumar in 2005 het nummer "Achou!" van Dante Ozzetti uitvoerde tijdens het Festival da TV Cultura, en daar een zilveren prijs mee won, was de link tussen beide rasmuzikanten onvermijdelijk gelegd. Het uitbrengen van een cd was het enige logische vervolg. De twee hadden elkaar wel eens eerder ontmoet, maar nu moest er ook echt eens wat gebeuren.
Violist, componist en arrangeur Dante Ozzetti (São Paulo) komt uit een muzikaal gezin. Dante’s zus, zangeres Ná Ozzetti is de meest bekende vertolkster van zijn muziek. Een andere zus is fluitiste Marta Ozzetti.
Zangeres Ceumar komt uit Itanhandu in de staat Minas Gerais. Zij heeft al twee schitterende albums op haar conto staan: "Dindinha" (uit 2000) en "Sempre Viva!" (2003). Haar loepzuivere stem en bijzonder goede muzikale smaak vielen ook in Europa op en bezorgden haar uitnodigingen voor concerten en festivals. Alles leek wat te bekoelen, maar met de release van Achou! staat Ceumar weer helemaal in de kijker.
Ceumar: Discography
CeumarAchou!
Publisher
Year
COMING SOON
2009
Detail
Achou! - More information about this great new album will be available soon!
Een succesvol optreden van Ceumar en Dante Ozzetti op het Festival da TV Cultura leidde tot een uiterst enthousiaste samenwerking tussen deze twee bescheiden sterren. Op vier nummers na, werden alle composities van de cd in niet meer dan twee maanden geschreven (januari en februari 2006). De muziek opnemen was ook een fluitje van een cent. De akoestische instrumentatie waar Dante altijd mee werkt, bleek ook perfect als achtergrond voor Ceumar’s heldere stem. Naast de akoestische gitaren van Dante Ozzetti en Webster Santos (uit Ceumar’s band), horen we Milton Mori (mandoline), Du Moreira (bas) en percussionist Sérgio Reze. De meeste composities zijn van tekst voorzien door Dante’s muzikale partner Luiz Tatit. Tussen de andere tekstschrijvers vinden we een paar illustere vrienden van Ceumar zoals Zeca Baleiro ("Partidão"), Zélia Duncan ("Parei Querer") en Chico César ("Saia Azul").. Op de schitterende blues ballad "Parte B" horen we pianist Lincoln Antonio in een eenvoudige trio bezetting (piano, bas, drum). Een andere gastmuzikant is Swami Jr op zijn 7-snarige gitaar in de samba "Praga". Dante waagt zich aan een vocaal duet met Ceumar in het nogal complexe "Visões". Het album sluit af met een vrolijke frevo ("Lenha na Quentura") waarop trombonist Bocato de cd letterlijk uitblaast.
Het album blijkt een prachtige opvolger te zijn van Ceumar’s "Sempre Viva!". Het bereikt hetzelfde hoogstaande artistieke niveau, zonder enige vorm van commerciële toegeving. Muziek in z’n puurste vorm met een zuivere toewijding.
CeumarSempre Viva
Publisher
Year
MSI Music
2005
Detail
Sempre Viva - On her second album, the Itanhandu (Minas Gerais) born, but now São Paulo based singer, continues that road. This time producing her own cd and also making her debut as a composer. On Sempre Viva Ceumar moves on to the next thing, not on an outlined route, but more as an expression to where she stands now, what she wants to do, being the very creative talent. Some arrangements and lyrics are partnerships with great brazilian musicians and composers as Paulo Lepetit, Webster Santos, Rogerio Delayon and Swami Jr (arrangements); Gero Camilo, Tata Fernandes, Zeca Baleiro and Chico Cesar (Lyrics). This performance has been presented in Brazil´s states as Santa Catarina, Minas Gerais, Parana, São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. Sempre viva has also been shown in Leuven Festival in Belgium.
Sempre Viva presents a bland change since the acoustic Dindinha. Now Ceumar brings to her work eletric guittars, drums, clarinet na cello. That´s an astonishing work bringing rithms that goes from xote ("A outra era") to blues ("rãzinha blues"), without loosing the delicacy of this great singer´s interpretation.
The approach on this album confirms Ceumar's creative mind and sense for adventure combining an unique universe, rithms as ballads, samba, xotes and jongos), along with her remarkable clear voice and outstanding musicality. She confirms the general praise about her debut cd. An artist well worth following, since she seems to be able to move on, instead of looking back; the "sempre viva"-attitude!
CeumarDindinga
Publisher
Year
Phantom
2000
Detail
Dindinha (2000) - On her first well received cd Dindinha (2000), then 28-year-old Ceumar was assisted by Zeca Baleiro, who not only delivered songs to the album, but also produced it. Some of this songs were distributed by the independent labels Nascente and Puntumayo (Music from the Coffe Lands II) to some european and american countries. During two years, Ceumar presented Didinha in many brazilians states as São Paulo, Minas Gerais, Rio de Janeiro, Parana and foreing countries as Portugal and China. She also has been in international festivals in Hong Kong, Portugal, Belgium (SFINKS FESTIVAL), France (Nuits Atypiques) and in private events in London.
Ceumar: Press
[ 2009]
Press
"...Ceumar made Dindinha into a shining album, marking her presence as an honor for the music world. She´s a sophisticated "star" with all qualyties to be a great popular success!" (Mauro Dias - Folha de Sp newspaper)
"Dindinha has a consoling and atemporal atmosphere. With no eletronic effects, this album has resulted in a repertory composed in diverse epochs, giving an impression that will be allways recent" (Kito Ferreira, Estado de Minas newspaper - 25/01/2000)
"Ceumar is an all-place and epoch singer. Using her songs, she represents an ancient world that is inside everybody. Singing, she forces out the "perfect music" that is inside our soul... graces all hearts, dares and idealizes..." (CelsoBorges, O Estado de Minas newspaper)
"Ceumar plays the guitar, composes, makes the arrangements and for the first time commands the musical production.... She doesn´t rhyme with Minas Gerais musicians not even with Milton Nascimento, Skank or Pato Fu. She doesn´t make folk or regionalist songs. Ceumar has originality and incomparable sweetness." (Mauricio Kubrusly - site Fantastico.com)
"In Sempreviva Ceumar maintains the same sweet voice, and poetry acompanied by the comfort of her acoustic guittar. (Ana Cecilia Martins- Jornal do Brasil newspaper)
"Ceumar´s music has a nostalgic atmosphere, a bit rural, mas doesn´t get cloistered in the regionalism. Refuses pop references, but sounds modern in her pureness, reforced by the ingenuity of some lyrics". (Alexandre Agabiti Fernandez - Cult Magazine)
