Every and each time I pay a visit to Contemporanea I get more amazed with their organization and professionalism. I had a past (and I mean past) in engineering and, because of that, details in how to improve productivity attracts me. I spent about 3 hours on their manufacture yesterday and talk with the guys on the assembly lines and office and they really sold me a great company image. Obviously all that reflects on the quality of the instruments they make. Kudos for Contemporanea.

One day before departure on tour with Choro, I got a message from the jazz guitarist Joe Carter with an update about his newest CD. I have been working with him recording and arranging few tunes of it and at this point only a couple of tracks need to be mastered and....voila.

Also, I just recorded a track with the Cuban great guitarist Jose Conde and this project is also going towards finalization.

I will keep you posted with their releases. Peace.

We played our first show of the tour in Bauru and it was a great one. On a Wednesday night we filed about 2/3 of the SESC-Bauru had two encores, and the crowd singing with us in the end. Klayber was a great addition to the ensemble with great technique plus a great vibe. Last night (November 14), we departured from Sao Paulo city on a bus for a 7-hour ride to Presidente Prudente where we will play tonight at the local SESC. It was an easy night ride and we are now ready to start the day.

Hey. I just arrived in Sao Paulo, Brazil for yet another tour with Choro Ensemble. I will be here for a couple of weeks playing with Pedro, Carlinhos, and a couple of hired local musicians (Klayber Varela, clarinet and Paulo Ramos, 6-string guitar) since Anat could not make at this time. After we are done with the shows, I will head to Rio and visit my family. While in the beautiful Rio de Janeiro, I will also attend GRUCON´s yearly party that celebrates the National Day of Black Consciousness. My activities in New York will resume on November 25th. Peace.

It was Forro Dodoi night at AJI. It was so great to see all of you there dancing and celebrating life and the new direction this country is taken. Really, just want to thank all my friends that came out. It was a party and we will be there again in December. I'll keep you posted. Peace.