Zé Ibarra

Zé Ibarra, born José Vitor Ibarra Ramos on December 20, 1996, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, is a multifaceted musician known as a singer, composer, arranger, multi-instrumentalist, and producer. Raised in a musically rich environment by a Chilean event producer mother and a Bahian photographer father, he showed early interest in music, requesting songs as a toddler and receiving the album "Elis & Tom" as a gift at age four. His influences include João Gilberto, Nina Simone, Marvin Gaye, Diana Ross, Michael Jackson, and Caetano Veloso. Ibarra began studying drums at six, later switching to piano, and started composing his first songs at 14.

Ibarra's career launched in 2012 with the band Dônica, formed alongside Lucas Nunes, Tom Veloso (son of Caetano Veloso), Deco Almeida, and Miguel Guimarães. Their debut album, "Continuidade dos Parques" (2015), blended MPB with progressive rock through complex arrangements, earning critical acclaim and the 27th Brazilian Music Award for Best Group in 2016. He later co-founded Bala Desejo during the pandemic with Dora Morelenbaum, Julia Mestre, and Lucas Nunes, emerging from live sessions with Teresa Cristina. Their 2022 debut "Sim Sim Sim" drew from 1970s sounds with themes of desire and urban life, winning a Latin Grammy for Best Portuguese Language Pop Album.

A turning point came in 2019 when Ibarra joined Milton Nascimento's band, contributing as a singer, guitarist, and musician on tours for "Clube da Esquina" (2019) and the farewell show Última Sessão de Música (2022). He often opened these shows with a mix of his originals and Brazilian classics, captivating audiences with his high-pitched, androgynous vocal style. Collaborations extended to icons like Gal Costa (duet on "Meu Bem, Meu Mal" for her 2021 album "Nenhuma Dor"), Ney Matogrosso, and others such as Duda Beat on "Bédi Beat." 

In his solo career, Ibarra released "Marquês, 256" in 2023 and "AFIM" in 2025, the latter marking a dissociation from traditional MPB while embracing experimental, immersive soundscapes blending jazz, pop, and '70s/'80s influences. In September 2025, he earned a Latin Grammy nomination for Best Song in Portuguese with "Transe." 

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