Abelita Mateus

Pianist and singer from São Paulo, Brazil, Abelita Mateus is passionate about Brazilian music and Jazz. She began classical piano studies in her teens, and gradually developed a passion for jazz, which brought her to the U.S. to pursue her Master in Jazz Performance at William Paterson University. In Brazil she performed with such great artists as Vinicius Dorin, Raul de Souza and Hermeto Pascoal.

Living in New York since 2012, Abelita has become immersed in the jazz scene and is applying the “new sounds” into her recent work as a performer and composer. In 2014, Abelita started composing for her latest project, “Mixed Feelings,” which is a fusion of her samba and bossa nova roots with contemporary jazz. In 2016 she had the great opportunity to record the "Mixed Feelings" Project with the great Peter Slavov on bass, Alex Kautz on drums, Matt Marantz on saxophone, Romero Lubambo on guitar and Phillip Gillette on percussion and drums. Also in 2016 she composed new songs and recorded her new Project "Vivenda," which is a mix of some of her compositions and compositions of the great Brazilian composers Tom Jobim, Djavan and Gilberto Gil. Abelita recorded the "Vivenda" project with the wonderful Romero Lubambo on guitar, Claudio Roditi on trumpet, Itaiguara Brandão on bass, Portinho on drums, Adriano Santos on drums and Phillip Gillette on percussion. Abelita is also the pianist and singer of the Chameleon Music Trio, with Phillip Gillette on drums and Daseul Kim on bass. She is also currently the pianist for the Dizzy Gillespie Afro-Cuban Experience, directed by Dizzy Gillespie alumni John Lee. She has been performed recently at international venues including the Blue Note New York, The Kennedy Center in Washington D.C., The Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles, Yoshi’s Jazz Club in San Francisco, Ronnie Scott’s in London, the Luna Classics and Musig Am Zurisee Jazz Festivals in Switzerland, as well as various venues in São Paulo, Brazil. In the New York area, Abelita has been playing with world class musicians such as John Lee, Claudio Roditi, Tommy Campbell, Sharel Cassity, the Dizzy Gillespie Big Band, Peter Slavov, Alex Kautz, Matt Marantz, among others.

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