As choro and samba evolved in the early part of the 20th century, they evolved in tandem with shared roots and histories... We wanted to explore that, and that's why I think this album is unique.
—Ami Molinelli
Long established as a passionate and knowledgeable explorer of Brazilian choro, samba, and jazz, San Francisco percussionist Ami Molinelli goes a step further on Raízes do Choro e Samba (Roots of Choro and Samba), arriving September 4 on her own Amimo Records. The second album by Duo Violão Plus One—Molinelli with 7-string guitarists Edinho Gerber and Rogério Souza (who also arranged the bulk of the album), plus special guests—investigates the beginnings of these foundational styles of Brazil’s popular music tradition.
In 2026, our ears instantly recognize Duo Violão Plus One’s rhythms, harmonies, and textures as the sounds of instrumental, classically structured, melodically rich choro and vocal, folkloric, rhythmically intensive samba. The band’s repertoire on Raízes do Choro e Samba, however, stretches back more than a century: to the time when these sounds were still new and developing in tandem.
“As choro and samba evolved in the early part of the 20th century, they evolved in tandem with shared roots and histories, and we wanted to show that connection in the music,” Molinelli says. “There was a real interplay, both in musicians and the music. Two distinct genres of music, but there’s also this interconnectedness. We wanted to explore that, and that’s why I think this album is unique.”
Indeed, the band’s assays of Pixinguinha’s music alone are a window on this complex origin story. One of the most important composers in the choro genre (as represented by the playful opener “Acerta O Passo,” and “Já Te Digo,” a feature for clarinetist Harvey Wainapeland legendary mandolinist Ronaldo do Bandolim), Pixinguinha also wrote many sambas and collaborated with the great poet/lyricist Vinícius de Moraes. The album concludes with a samba, “Mundo Melhor,” featuring an impassioned vocal by singer/dancer Dill Costa(who also sings “De Mal A Pior,” Pixinguinha’s choro cowritten with lyricist Hermínio Bello de Carvalho).
Yet Raízes do Choro e Samba offers a much wider lens. It includes an intoxicating rendition of “Pelo Telefone,” the Donga composition generally regarded as the first recorded samba, vivified by Wainapel, cavaquinho player Brian Moran, and the luminous singer Claudia Villela. It also includes compositions by two of the totemic women of Brazilian music: Dona Ivone Lara, “the Great Lady of Samba” (“Acreditar,” “Nasci Para Sonhar”), and Chiquinha Gonzaga, a pioneer of choro (“Gaúcho”). Finally, the album features three originals: Molinelli’s brief percussion powerhouse, “Esquenta”; Souza’s samba “Partindo Leo,” with a wily tenor saxophone line by Wainapel and the contemporary choro sounds of Tiago do Bandolim (son of Ronaldo do Bandolim and nephew of Rogério Souza); and “Friday Night in SF,” a fond bossa nova credited to the core trio.
It might look like the syllabus of a class in Brazilian music, but in fact it’s the very heart of what Duo Violão Plus One does.“When we’re playing live, this is really the music we end up playing,” says Molinelli. “This is what a set might look like.” On Raízes do Choro e Samba, they play it with joy and aplomb.
Ami Molinelli was born July 15, 1974, in Daly City, California, and grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area. She was musical from childhood, but only found her way to the percussion traditions while studying at the University of California at Berkeley. Subsequently, a journey to Salvador, Brazil, became a world-reshaping experience that resulted in nine months’ membership in an all-female drumming group.
Molinelli took her newfound passion home with her, studying Brazilian rhythms and the pandeiro first in the Bay Area, then in Southern California, where she earned an MFA at California Institute of the Arts. She became a working musician in Los Angeles while also teaching at the L.A. Philharmonic. After returning northward in 2010, she has continued to pursue an active career as both a player and teacher. Molinelli is also a co-founder of the choro-jazz quartet Grupo Falso Baiano, now ongoing for over twenty years.
In 2016, while at Brazil Camp—an annual summer Brazilian music intensive for adults in Cazadero, California—Molinelli met 7-string guitar master Rogério Souza. Through him, she then connected with Edinho Gerber, Souza’s guitar peer and collaborator as Duo Violão Brasil. Molinelli joined the guitarists to form Duo Violão Plus One, cementing the new partnership with the 2019 recording História do Choro. Raízes do Choro e Sambais their second album.
Duo Violão Plus One will be in residency at Tahoe Music Alive in Truckee, CA 10/4-11. The trio plans a fall 2027 tour of the Pacific Northwest.
In 2026, our ears instantly recognize Duo Violão Plus One’s rhythms, harmonies, and textures as the sounds of instrumental, classically structured, melodically rich choro and vocal, folkloric, rhythmically intensive samba. The band’s repertoire on Raízes do Choro e Samba, however, stretches back more than a century: to the time when these sounds were still new and developing in tandem.
“As choro and samba evolved in the early part of the 20th century, they evolved in tandem with shared roots and histories, and we wanted to show that connection in the music,” Molinelli says. “There was a real interplay, both in musicians and the music. Two distinct genres of music, but there’s also this interconnectedness. We wanted to explore that, and that’s why I think this album is unique.”
Indeed, the band’s assays of Pixinguinha’s music alone are a window on this complex origin story. One of the most important composers in the choro genre (as represented by the playful opener “Acerta O Passo,” and “Já Te Digo,” a feature for clarinetist Harvey Wainapeland legendary mandolinist Ronaldo do Bandolim), Pixinguinha also wrote many sambas and collaborated with the great poet/lyricist Vinícius de Moraes. The album concludes with a samba, “Mundo Melhor,” featuring an impassioned vocal by singer/dancer Dill Costa(who also sings “De Mal A Pior,” Pixinguinha’s choro cowritten with lyricist Hermínio Bello de Carvalho).
Yet Raízes do Choro e Samba offers a much wider lens. It includes an intoxicating rendition of “Pelo Telefone,” the Donga composition generally regarded as the first recorded samba, vivified by Wainapel, cavaquinho player Brian Moran, and the luminous singer Claudia Villela. It also includes compositions by two of the totemic women of Brazilian music: Dona Ivone Lara, “the Great Lady of Samba” (“Acreditar,” “Nasci Para Sonhar”), and Chiquinha Gonzaga, a pioneer of choro (“Gaúcho”). Finally, the album features three originals: Molinelli’s brief percussion powerhouse, “Esquenta”; Souza’s samba “Partindo Leo,” with a wily tenor saxophone line by Wainapel and the contemporary choro sounds of Tiago do Bandolim (son of Ronaldo do Bandolim and nephew of Rogério Souza); and “Friday Night in SF,” a fond bossa nova credited to the core trio.
It might look like the syllabus of a class in Brazilian music, but in fact it’s the very heart of what Duo Violão Plus One does.“When we’re playing live, this is really the music we end up playing,” says Molinelli. “This is what a set might look like.” On Raízes do Choro e Samba, they play it with joy and aplomb.
Ami Molinelli was born July 15, 1974, in Daly City, California, and grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area. She was musical from childhood, but only found her way to the percussion traditions while studying at the University of California at Berkeley. Subsequently, a journey to Salvador, Brazil, became a world-reshaping experience that resulted in nine months’ membership in an all-female drumming group.
Molinelli took her newfound passion home with her, studying Brazilian rhythms and the pandeiro first in the Bay Area, then in Southern California, where she earned an MFA at California Institute of the Arts. She became a working musician in Los Angeles while also teaching at the L.A. Philharmonic. After returning northward in 2010, she has continued to pursue an active career as both a player and teacher. Molinelli is also a co-founder of the choro-jazz quartet Grupo Falso Baiano, now ongoing for over twenty years.
In 2016, while at Brazil Camp—an annual summer Brazilian music intensive for adults in Cazadero, California—Molinelli met 7-string guitar master Rogério Souza. Through him, she then connected with Edinho Gerber, Souza’s guitar peer and collaborator as Duo Violão Brasil. Molinelli joined the guitarists to form Duo Violão Plus One, cementing the new partnership with the 2019 recording História do Choro. Raízes do Choro e Sambais their second album.
Duo Violão Plus One will be in residency at Tahoe Music Alive in Truckee, CA 10/4-11. The trio plans a fall 2027 tour of the Pacific Northwest.
For more information contact Terri Hinte Publicity.
