Dudaka da Fonseca joins the January 7th "The Brazil Concert" at The Loft at City Winery -

Duduka da Fonseca

Born in Rio de Janeiro, Duduka Da Fonseca is a 3-time GRAMMY® nominee. He has appeared on over 200 albums alongside American Jazz icons as well as Brazilian Jazz Icons, making him one of the most recorded Brazilian drummers in this idiom.

In 2002 Duduka's first solo album, Samba Jazz Fantasia, was nominated for the American Grammy® Award. He is one of the very few Brazilians and the only Brazilian drummer thus far to be nominated for this prestigious Award.

In 2009 The Brazilian Trio’s (which he co-leads) album Forests, was nominated for the 10th Latin Grammy.

At fourteen, while living in Rio, Duduka formed his first Samba Jazz Trio, called Bossa Trio, with his brother Miguel playing the bass. For many years, they played numerous Bossa Nova/Samba Jazz concerts and also on various television shows. In the early 70's Duduka co-founded The Samba Jazz Sextet, Mandengo with Raul Mascarenhas (tenor sax), Mauro Senise (alto sax), Barrozinho (trumpet), Tony Botelho (acoustic bass), and Tomás Improta (piano). Mandengo performed together for many years until Duduka moved to New York in 1975.

In New York, Duduka followed his dream of playing with American Jazz musicians where he could blend musical cultures. He has recorded and performed with Gerry Mulligan, Phil Woods, Kenny Barron, Lee Konitz, Eddie Gomez, Joanne Brackeen, Herbie Mann, Sadao Watanabe, Joe Henderson, David Amram, George Mraz, Emily Remler, Nancy Wilson, Slide Hampton, Rufus Reid, Steve Allee, John Scofield,Wayne Shorter,John Patitucci,Martin Wind, Wolfgang Lackerschmid, Tom Harrell, Joe Lovano, Jorge Dalto, Paquito D’Rivera, Dick Oatts, Dennis Irwin, Billy Drewes, Kenny Werner, David Sanchez, Marc Copland, Renee Rosnes, Bill Charlap, Harry Allen, Larry Goldings, Jessica Molaskey, John Pizzarelli and many others.

He has been honored to play and record with the great Brazilian artists, Antonio Carlos Jobim, Dom Salvador, Sergio Barrozo, Rio 65 Trio, Haroldo Mauro Jr., Astrud Gilberto,Toninho Horta, Airto Moreira, Raul de Souza, Claudio Roditi, Ion Muniz, Edson Lobo, Alfredo Cardim, Nico Assumpção,Tenório Jr., Cesarius Alvim, Ricardo Santos, Edison Maciel, Naná Vasconcelos, Carlos Barbosa-Lima, Paulo Jobim, Daniel Jobim, Jaques Morelenbaum, Mario Adnet, Maucha Adnet, Chico Adnet, Elza Soares, Quarteto Jobim - Morelenbaum, OSESP (São Paulo Symphony Orchestra, “Jobim Sinfônico”), Milton Nascimento, Dori Caymmi, Oscar Castro-Neves among many others.

Duduka has established numerous Brazilian Jazz groups among them Brasilian Express, which appeared on National PBS television in 1981. Duduka’s New York Samba Band performed at many jazz venues including the Blue Note, Fat Tuesdays and the Village Gate. In 1986 he formed The Brazilian Jazz All Starsfeaturing artists Bob Mintzer, Randy Brecker , Eliane Elias, Romero Lubambo, Nilson Matta and Guilherme Franco.

Duduka was a founding member and co-leader of Trio da Paz, nominated for an Indie Award as Best Latin Jazz Group in 1993 and their recording Partido Out won the Jazz Journalists Association Awards for best Brazilian Jazz Album of 2002.

In 2016, Trio da Pazwon the Hot House NYC Award for the best group and was nominated for the American Grammy® in the Best Latin Jazz category with their most recent album “30”.

From 1984 to 2000 Duduka was a faculty member of the Drummers Collective NYC, conducting workshops and giving private lessons. He has also conducted workshops and master classes in Brazil, Europe and Asia. Duduka is the author of the bestselling instructional book and CD, Brazilian Rhythms for Drumset (Alfred Publishing Co, Inc).

In 2002 he formed the Duduka Da Fonseca Quintet featuring Anat Cohen, Guilherme Monteiro, Helio Alves, and Leonardo Cioglia.

The Quintet recorded two critically acclaimed albums. Their second album “Samba Jazz-Jazz Samba” was among the ten best albums of the year in the prestigious Jazziz Magazine. The Quintet actively performed on several places including the Umbria Jazz Festival and Tudo é Jazz Festival in Ouro Prêto.

In 2009 Duduka formed his Brazilian based Duduka Da Fonseca Trio, what he considers to be one of his most expressive works to date, featuring David Feldman on piano and Guto Wirtti on acoustic bass. The Trio has recorded three albums which were extremely well received by critics worldwide, and their fourth album Duduka Da Fonseca Trio Plays Dom Salvador, was released by Sunnyside Records on April 13th, 2018.