Badi Assad October 28, 2012

Badi Assad transcends traditional styles of her native Brazilian music with an exotic mixture of ethnic sounds from around the world. As a result, the extraordinary singer, guitarist, and percussionist has forged her very own exhilarating sound that quite literally defies categorization. Utterly compelling live we cannot recommend this huge talent enough.

A heartfelt vocalist who sings in English and Portuguese and is known for her Bobby McFerrin-like improvisations, Assad is also one of the country's truly accomplished guitar players. In 1995, Assad was voted Best Acoustic Fingerstyle Guitarist by editors of Guitar Player, while readers of the magazine named her album Rhythms the Best Classical Album of the Year. Although her earlier albums focused on unique interpretations of songs by songwriters such as Egberto Gizmonte, Milton Nascimento, Ralph Towner, and George Harrison, Assad displayed her genuinely original songwriting talents on her internationally accalimed 1998 album Chameleon.

The younger sister of famed guitarists Sergio and Odair of the duo Assad, Badi, who grew up in Rio de Janeiro, her first worldwide release, Solo, was recorded in April 1993 at St. Stephens of Hungary Church in New York. Assad followed her debut with three critically acclaimed releases including Rhythms in 1995, the instrumental Echoes of Brazil in 1997, and Chameleon in 1998.

Official Website: http://crd.fm/1TI