Ceumar

The mineira (from Minas Gerais state) CEUMAR sings, composes, plays the guitar, makes arrangements, and creates her own music since 1995, when she arrived in São Paulo. She manages her independent career, produces her own albums, and participates actively of collective and varied projects in Brazil and abroad.

DINDINHA is her first album released in 2000. It was produced by Zeca Baleiro with a precious musicians support and it brings a mix of traditional Brazilian composers such as Luiz Gonzaga and Sinhô with unreleased songs composed by Chico César, Itamar Assumpção and Zeca Baleiro.

SEMPREVIVA! Is the 2nd album – 2003, on which Ceumar signs the musical
production and arrangements besides showing her composer side for the first time in partnerships with Alice Ruiz – a paranaense (from Paraná state) poetess – Tata Fernandes and Chico César, among previously unreleased songs by Péri, Kléber Albuquerque and Gero Camilo.

ACHOU! is the 3rd album and it shows her meeting with the composer and guitar player DANTE OZZETTI.  It was released in 2006 by the recording company MCD. It shows Dante's partnerships with invited songwriters such as: Luiz Tatit, Zeca Baleiro, Zélia Duncan, Chico César, Kléber Albuquerque and Alzira Espíndola. It was recorded alive in studio after four months of rehearsals, and it counted on a very tuned band whose musicians were: Sergio Reze, Dú Moreira, Milton Mori, Webster Santos and Bocato on the trombones.

She also has some of her work released abroad in compilations by the labels
Nascente e Putumayo (Music from the Coffee Lands II), distributed in many European countries and in the U.S.A. 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 8 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.

Since 2006 she has been developing a work with the Dutch pianist Mike Del Ferro.  In October 2006 they performed together supported by his trio in 7 concerts in Holland and Belgium. Last April they presented the same concert in Concertgebouw, an important theatre in Amsterdam.

She went to Mexico with Dante Ozzetti and group and in September 2007, she
participated of  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.

Last May (2008), Ceumar had a four concert season at Teatro da FECAP SP in order to record her new album that brings only songs composed by her or in partnerships with great and new names of the MPB (Brazilian Popular Music) "My Name Is Ceumar" was the name of the concert that was very succssesful.

www.mikedelferro.com / www.olafkeus.nl

Ceumar and Mike del Ferro Trio – Jaboticaba

Ceumar and Mike del Ferro Trio – Lenha na Quentura

Ceumar and Mike del Ferro Trio – Banzo

Comments

" ...Ceumar, the most limpid voice that appeared in the scene since Zizi Possi, singing, mainly, songs by Zeca Baleiro." – Luís Fernando Veríssimo, O Globo, 2002.

" ...Ceumar made of "Dindinha" a luminous Record, marking a debut that honors the recording industry. She is a sophisticated star with all the necessary and more than enough qualities to reach popular success." – Mauro Dias, O Estado de S. Paulo, 2000.

"In which proportion the new thinkers will harvest their fruit to feed more art or power (or both) is the secret that now is hidden in her folds, voices and guitars. Ceumar who arrived recently at the evil big world seems to do whatever she wants." – Pedro Alexandre Sanches, Folha de S. Paulo, 2000.

"In this new release produced by Zeca Baleiro where her own arrangements predominate you will find her playing a steel string or a 12 string guitar, alone or in instrumental complicity .Ceumar makes hers every song she sings and plays." – Regina Porto, IstoÉ Gente, 2000.

"At the end of the concert, I was one of the 1.500 people that, standing, applauded Ceumar until their hands ache, asking her to come back to the stage... I tried to classify her in some commom place in the showbizz, but I couldn't, she escapes. She is not the"mineira" regional singer, she's not MPB, she's not pop, she's not rock. There's something in her "innerside" that has been preserved from the contamination of the fashionable – a taste of refreshment that didn't take chemical additives…If you have only heard about sky (céu) and sea (mar), but you still haven't heard about Ceumar, do not miss another chance." – Zuenir Ventura, NoMínimo, 2002.

Nowadays Ceumar also develops a work in Amsterdam, where she lives half of the year with a group of musicians called Kokoura.

We can say that Burkina Faso meets Senegal in Europe and Brazil! This band is influenced by blues, samba, reggae 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 3 continents.

http://www.kokoura.com/
www.ceumar.com.br
www.myspace.com/ceumar