Ricardo Herz

Ricardo Herz (born 1978) is a violinist from São Paulo, Brazil.

Ricardo Steuer Herz is a classically trained musician, and also received training in jazz from the prestigious Berklee College of Music in Boston. In France, he studied with Didier Lockwood, where he (who Herz or Lockwood?) regularly conducts workshops on Brazilian music. Back home in Brazil, Herz won the popular jury at Visa Prize for Brazilian Music in 2004.^[1] Since then, he released his first solo album, Violino Popular Brasileiro (Brazilian Popular Violin) and has performed with talented artists such as Yamandu Costa, Hamilton de Holanda and the forró legend Dominguinhos.

Herz's repertoire is extremely rich in instrumental Brazilian melodies and ranges from Northeastern rhythms to choro, samba and its multiple variables. His research and in-depth knowledge of Brazilian music inspired his second solo album, Brasil em 3 por 4, which includes famous popular waltzes by composers Milton Nascimento, Pixinguinha and Djavan. Experimenting in his home studio, Ricardo recorded all the violins on this album. He plays the bases, the solos and everything else. He says: "I've always wanted to record a solo album playing in duos, trios and quartets, all by myself!?, he laughs. The album was released in September 2007.

Currently, Ricardo lives in Paris. Aside from his solo work, he performs with the groups Orquestra do Fubá and Tekere. Orquestra do Fubá is a forró band made up of young, dynamic French and Brazilian musicians. Since 2005, they have been a constant presence in France's summer festivals, including Jazz à Vienne, Jazz à Marciac, Bout du Monde Festival, among others. Tekere is a jazz/world-music sextet composed by three Brazilian and three French musicians whose indisputable quality provides an amazing range of performances, from South American ballads to North African beats. Herz's career is currently managed by Scubidu Prods^[2] in São Paulo, Brazil.

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