"In a very tasteful, fierce, temperamental, grooved and hard-swinging way, these three far-advanced gentlemen tell what a sky-high level they are at, both individually and collectively."                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         Tor Hammerø - Nettavisen, Tor de Jazz (Norway)

                                

                              

                     "Gaiotto is superb throughout, always strongly present but enhancing his brilliant trio cohorts’ playing, never overwhelming them."          

                                                                                                              John Turney - London Jazz News (UK)

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Cosmopaulista is the debut album by Brazilian drummer and composer Mário Gaiotto which paints a jazz-infused portrait of one of the world’s biggest cities.  The album title combines the words  ‘cosmopolitan’ and ‘paulista’ - people from the state of São Paulo - which encapsulates his concept of migration and immigration.

Accompanied by pianist Daniel Grajew and bassist Sidiel Vieira, the trio presents ten original compositions which showcase the diverse influences that the city is blessed with.  “There is Maracatu from Recife, Batuque de Umbigada from São Paulo, Pagode de Viola from Minas Gerais, Choro and the Maxixe from Rio de Janeiro...” comments Gaiotto. 

“Living in São Paulo I fell in love with its multiculturalism. That's why in my songs there are Brazilians but also Jews, Arabs, Turks, Japanese, Armenians, Moroccans, Europeans, Americans, all living together in peace and without borders.”

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Recorded in summer 2021 when covid was rife, the three musicians came together with a minimum of rehearsal time, producing a session which pushed each player to their musical and improvisational limits. 

Sidiel Vieira is one of the most in-demand bassists in São Paulo (“he’s played with ‘Deus e o mundo’ -
God and the world” laughs Gaiotto) and couples a fearsome technique and rhythmic concept with extremely tasteful playing.  Alongside him, Gaiotto enlisted pianist Daniel Grajew as a musician who is not only known as a mature improvisor, but also one who has the ability to express himself in a range of contexts and cultural settings.
“Every time I listen to the album again, I'm even more sure that I picked the right pianist. Daniel understood perfectly what I was looking for with the compositions and put a lot of effort into preparing them.”

Recorded at Da Pá Virada studio in Sao Paulo by Thiago “Big” Rabello, the session almost didn’t happen. The trio were originally scheduled to tour together as winners of the Proac award and it was only the onset of covid which saw them shift their focus and get permission to record an album - captured in its entirety by filmmaker Dani Gurgel - instead. The resulting videos were showcased online by ten municipalities in the state and now, finally, the music is ready to travel outside of Brazil to a worldwide audience.