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Mauricio Zottarelli
Drummer/Composer Mauricio Zottarelli has been on the forefront of the Jazz, Latin and Brazilian music scenes for quite some time - be it working on his own music, and/or contributing with many notable performers and artists in his 19+ year career.
About Me
Brazilian born, New York City-based drummer/composer Mauricio Zottarelli has been
on the forefront of the Jazz, Latin and Brazilian music scenes for many years. Called a
“superb drummer” by JazzTimes magazine, Zottarelli comes from a musical family and
was born in Santos, SP, Brazil, but grew up in Rio Claro, SP in a highly musical
environment.
His first few years as a professional musician consisted of many performances
throughout his native country as well as studio and session work with different artists
and bands. At the same time, he pursued a degree in Computer Science, and
concluded his studies in 1997.
mz bio
Daniel Corso - Escena
Mauricio moved to the U.S. in 1999 after winning a scholarship award to study at
Berklee College of Music, in Boston, MA. He majored in Film Scoring, Performance
and Arranging, and graduated from the prestigious college in 2002.
Mauricio is a critically acclaimed and award-winning drummer and artist. Since his
move to New York City in 2006, he has become one of the most sought after
drummers on the scene. Zottarelli is credited in more than 70 albums so far in his
career, and has worked and shared the stage with some of the most important and
notable artists of today, crossing over many musical styles.
Some of them are: Hiromi, Eliane Elias, Marc Johnson, Prasanna, Lee Ritenour, Dave
Grusin, Esperanza Spalding, Keiko Matsui, Richard Bona, Paquito D’Rivera, Joe
Lovano, Richard Galliano, Chico Pinheiro, Cláudio Roditi, Joe Locke, Geoffrey Keezer,
Mike Pope, Eldar, Ivan Lins, Carmen Souza, Chuck Loeb, Rosa Passos, Dom
Salvador, Jovino Santos Neto, Nilson Matta, Toninho Horta, Oriente Lopez, Filó
Machado, Gustavo Assis Brasil, Hendrik Meurkens, and many others.
Also very active as a bandleader and composer/arranger, Mauricio co-leads and
collaborates with several projects, such as the Dig Trio - with guitarist Gustavo Assis
Brasil - which released its first CD in 2003 to great reviews from critics and audiences
alike.
In 2009, Mauricio released his first solo album, entitled 7 Lives, which includes several
of his own compositions and it features a unique mix of Brazilian jazz, fusion, and
jazz. The incredible artists performing on the album are: Gustavo Assis Brasil (guitars),
Itaiguara Brandão (bass), Milene Corso (vocals), Brandi Disterheft (bass), Dom
Salvador (piano), Oriente Lopez (piano, flutes), Esperanza Spalding (bass), Cidinho
Teixeira (piano) and Rodrigo Ursaia (sax).
In 2011 Zottarelli released MOZIK - a collaboration with pianist Gilson Schachnik and
also featuring Gustavo Assis Brasil, Fernando Huergo and Yulia Musayelyan. The
album has garnered praises from many important jazz/music publications such as
Downbeat magazine and All About Jazz. The prestigious Jazz Station Blog, written by
journalist/producer Arnaldo deSouteiro, considered MOZIK the #1 new talent of 2011
and included the CD in their TOP 15 best of 2011. The blog also listed Mauricio in
their Top 10 Drummers Of The Year list four years in a row, from 2011 to 2014.
In 2012, Mauricio won the prestigious Brazilian Music Awards (Prêmio da Música
Brasileira), the most important music award in Brazil, with artist Dom Salvador and his
album “The Art of Samba Jazz”. In 2014, Mauricio released another collaboration –
this time with bassist Amanda Ruzza. The album is called “Glasses, No Glasses”, and
it is a free improvisation, live-in-the-studio recording with special guest, pianist and
multi-instrumentalist Léo Genovese.
Following his growing interest in music education, Mauricio teaches regularly in the
NYC area, and has done workshops/clinics in Brazil, Europe and the USA. He has also
taught at the world-famous Brazil Camp in California, and he is a regular
columnist/writer for Modern Drummer Magazine in Brazil.