DIOGO MONZO plays LUIZ EÇA
solo piano live (Vienna . Sofia)
Diogo Monzo's new solo piano album was recorded live in Vienna (Austria) and Sofia (Bulgaria). The album has a unique flavor, as it is the first solo piano album in the discography of Brazilian music with the work of Luiz Eça, recorded on European soil. On April 3, 2024, Luiz Eça, known to many as Luizinho Eça, would have turned 88. To celebrate this special date, Diogo Monzo and the record label Biscoito Fino present Luiz Eça through the hands of Diogo Monzo.

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NÓS E O MAR
Six Hands produced the album “Nós e o mar” (Jasmin Music), which features 10 songs by Roberto Menescal—nine of them in partnership with Ronaldo Bôscoli and another with Chico Buarque: “Bye, bye Brasil,” performed by Leila Pinheiro. The album, which celebrates Menescal’s 85th birthday, is a partnership between him and musicians Ricardo Bacelar and Diogo Monzo.
Augusto Pio
Estado de Minas - Cultura

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SEBASTIANA
Diogo Monzo's jazz is one of those territories in which one can hear great clarity and contradiction, the mediations between the historical weight, that which is codified, and what is supposed to be a look to the future, something that is not named and that, in jazz, is usually called improvisation: yesterday and tomorrow in the same theme. His album Sebastiana, affectionately named in honor of his grandmother, who passed away on the eve of the recording of the album, seeks to legitimize the free creation and sometimes distance from tradition on matrices of baião, frevo, maracatu and samba that are not always so perceptible [...] There are more earthly moments, such as Mugunzá, Idas e Vindas, Pequi and Mangaba. However, although Diogo Monzo does not propose drastic ruptures, he is an author more of the air than of the ground, more of the future than of what is established.
Julio Maria
Jornalista, biógrafo e crítico musical.

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FILHO do BRASIL
I believe in free music, so I must consider that I am not part of the "status quo." I believe in art as a source of change, a source of new reflections, and a modeler of a new consciousness. Some say: "When art does nothing more than please, it is only good for the ignorant." (Harnoncourt, 1929, p. 30). Some believe in music (art) by genre, style, etc. In this sense, I am probably not a musician or even an artist. Once, I thought about everything I had done, what I had seen, and what it was like to be me. It was then that I decided to indeed be who I am. Since then, I have felt free.
Diogo Monzo

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LUIZ EÇA por DIOGO MONZO
Life can be unfathomable, can't it? On the one hand, it robs us of Luiz Eça - it deprives us of his person and his piano, and only we, who knew and loved him, know the hole that this left.
However, 25 years have passed since Luizinho's death, and a boy named Diogo Monzo appears spontaneously and magically. Who is he? The answer is here.
I don't believe in witches, horoscopes, or reincarnation, but when I listen to this CD, I feel that in Diogo, the hands, the touch, and the genius of Luiz Eça vibrate.
Ruy Castro

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MEU SAMBA PARECE COM QUÊ?
I had the pleasure to meet and teach pianist Diogo Monzo in 2013, as I was part of the Berklee faculty delegation during our residency at Conservatório Musical Souza Lima.
When Diogo’s new CD arrived I listened to it with anticipation and I was very pleased with the results of his thoughtful and soulful work. The recording displays Diogo’s talent very well as a pianist, composer, arranger and band leader.
His compositions are intriguing, beautiful and display personal, soulful harmonizations and singing piano touch. His solo lines are connecting and breathing naturally, telling a personal, engaging story. His cover of Escorregando is both authentic and personal and technically assured as well. Here Diogo naturally accomplished being true to the original feel of the composition and say something personal on it as well. His solo takes the piece into the modern jazz realm very organically. He found a personal way to interpret “One Note Samba” as well.
Overall, his seven originals and two covers made memorable and enjoyable by his expressive touch and flowing musicality. His authentic and original approach is bridging the rich Brazilian musical tradition with modern jazz very successfully.
I’ve really enjoyed listening to Diogo’s album and I urge you to do the same. You won’t be disappointed!
Laszlo Gardony
Professor of Piano Berklee College of Music

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HINOS TRADICIONAIS SOB UMA NOVA CONCEPÇÃO
Diogo Monzo is a young musician, 29 years old, and released his first work in December 2013. “Traditional Hymns Under a New Conception” is a book for piano. It is a reinterpretation of traditional hymns, and in it, the “arranger collected melodies of great significance to the evangelical people, sung throughout generations, and set them in a sophisticated harmonic language, calculated, yes, but equally suitable for investing renewed meanings in the poetry evoked by the original hymns.” As a result of this, Diogo recorded his first solo piano CD, recorded live in an exciting and inspiring concert, in which he improvised to the beautiful melodies collected in this book.

It is a challenging work, first and foremost for pianists. The writing reveals a “symphonic” piano, often driven by chord melodies, in the style of Bill Evans, but with an unmistakable Brazilian accent. The conceptual division between melody and accompaniment is diluted in the sound mosaic that is Diogo Monzo’s arrangements, requiring the performer to read the piece in a less linear, more pictorial way, as if painting a large, colorful landscape.
Ricardo Aigner

It is a very mature and technical work. I loved the themes and quality of the interpretations.
Ney Conceição