Jaques Morelenbaum

As a cellist, Jaques Morelenbaum took part in phonographic productions of Antonio Carlos Jobim, Caetano Veloso, Gal Costa, Milton Nascimento and Chico Buarque, among others artists, achieving nowadays collaborations in more than 500 recording projects. From 1992 to 1993 Jaques has recorded in Oslo, Norway, the albums "Infância" and "Música de Sobrevivência", both by Egberto Gismonti, to ECM Records. In 1994, as a member of Antonio Carlos Jobim’s New Band, he recorded the album “Antonio Brasileiro”, a ‘Grammy’ winner. Between 95 e 96 he recorded in New York the CDs “Smoochy”, and “1996”, by Ryuichi Sakamoto. Jaques has been collaborating as a cellist with Mr. Sakamoto since 1993, touring all over the world playing his music. In 1999 he took part of Mr. Sakamoto’s multimedia Opera “Life” performed in Tokyo and Osaka, Japan. In 2001 Jaques has collaborated with Sting playing in his album/DVD “All this time…”, recorded with an international band live in Tuscany.

As a performing artist, Morelenbaum presented his Cello Samba Project for the first time in 1993, in the Free Jazz Festival, Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo, with the collaboration of Estação Primeira de Mangueira Samba School Rhythm Session. In 1995 Jaques hosted two nights of The Heineken Concerts, also in Rio and São Paulo, and for those events, his guests were Caetano Veloso, Ryuichi Sakamoto and Paula Morelenbaum.. In 1999 he performed again for the Heineken Concerts, at this time playing along with John Scofield. In 2005 Jaques toured Europe and South America presenting for the first time his Cello Samba Trio (with Marcelo Costa and Lula Galvão) playing in Paris, London, Milano, Vienna, Zagreb, Buenos Aires, Montevideo, Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo

Morelenbaum collaborated with Antonio Carlos Jobim in his Nova Banda from 1985 till Jobim’s last days, in 1995. With Egberto Gismonti Group he performed from 1988 till 1993. Jaques was invited by Gal Costa to play, write the arrangements and sign the Musical Direction for her from 1993 till 1995. Since 1992, when Caetano Veloso invited Jaques Morelenbaum to join him in his Circuladô Project, he has been Mr. Veloso’s MD till now-a days, working with him in several projects, including records, movie soundtracks and concerts all over the world.

In 1995, along with Paulo Jobim, Daniel Jobim and Paula Morelenbaum, Jaques founded the Quarteto Jobim Morelenbaum, an ensemble devoted to preserve Antonio Carlos Jobim’s music. This group has performed all over the world and had its first album released in 1999.

As an arranger Jaques collaborated with Antonio Carlos Jobim (albums "Passarim”, "O Tempo e o Vento", "Tom Jobim - Inédito", “Tom canta Vinícius” and “Antonio Brasileiro”), Caetano Veloso (albums "Circuladô", "Circuladô Vivo”, "Fina Estampa" , “Fina Estampa ao vivo”, “Tieta do Agreste”, “Livro”, “Prenda Minha”, “Orfeu do Carnaval”, “Homaggio a Federico e Giulieta” , “Noites do Norte”, “Live in Bahia” and “A Foreign Sound”), Gal Costa ("Mina d'água do meu canto"), Beto Guedes (“Dias de paz”), João Bosco (“Na esquina”) plus the project "Piazzollando", a homage to the work of Astor Piazzolla. He has also written arrangements for Brazilian new artist generation as Marisa Monte, Carlinhos Brown and for the group Titãs, whose album “Titãs - Acústico” sold 1,5 million copies only in Brazil. In the recent years Jaques has been one of the most active arrangers in Brazilian Record Industry, and nowadays he is extending his art overseas, working for best sellers Cesária Évora and Tito Paris, from Cape Verde, Gontiti and Choro Club, both from Japan, Clara Montes, Presuntos Implicados and Maria Dolores Pradera, from Spain, Mariza, Madredeus, Dulce Pontes and Rui Veloso, from Portugal, Paulo Flores, from Angola, as well as David Byrne, from USA. In 2001 he recorded at the legendary Studio Two at Abbey Road, London, conducting his orchestral arrangements for the Spanish group “Presuntos Implicados”.

Jaques produced a total of 44 albums, including “Tom canta Vinícius” and "Passarim" by Antonio Carlos Jobim (nominated by the American magazine Jazzis among the best projects of the eighties decade), "Circuladô Vivo”, "Fina Estampa", "Fina Estampa ao vivo", “Tieta do Agreste”, “Livro” (2000 ‘Grammy’ winner as best World Music album), “Prenda Minha”, “Noites do Norte”, “Live in Bahia” and “A Foreign Sound”, all by Caetano Veloso, "Mina d'água do meu canto” by Gal Costa, “Na esquina” by João Bosco and the film scores for “Central do Brasil” (“Central Station”), ”O Quatrilho”, “Tieta do Agreste” and “Orfeu”. Jaques has also produced the albums “Casa” and “A Day in New York” (WEA Japan/Sony Classical), together with Ryuichi Sakamoto and Paula Morelenbaum. On “Casa”, recorded at Mr. Jobim’s house in Rio de Janeiro, the trio performed a few ever unrecorded gems by Jobim.

Morelenbaum most recent production was the album “Transparente” (for EMI/WC - 2005) by Portuguese fado singer Mariza, considered in her own country as the new Amália Rodriguez.

As a conductor, Jaques Morelenbaum have performed on the recent years with a few important orchestral groups from Brazil: Orquestra Sinfônica de Brasilia, Orquestra Sinfônica da Bahia. Orquestra Sinfonia Cultura (Brazilian Television & Radio) and Orquestra Jazz Sinfônica. As Musical Director and Arranger for Caetano Veloso’s most recent project, “A Foreign Sound”, Morelenbaum has conducted orchestras in most important cultural centers of the world, like New York, Buenos Aires, London, Paris, Rome, Milano, Madrid, Barcelona, Lisbon and Köln, as well as in most of Brazilian capitals.

Jaques’ “premier” as film score writer was "A República dos Anjos", by Carlos Del Pino (1991). He wrote together with Caetano Veloso the soundtrack for “O Quatrilho” by Fábio Barreto (1995), an Oscar nominee as best foreign language film. Morelenbaum has also composed the soundtrack for the short movie "Água morro acima" by Maria Letícia (best short movie at Brasilia International Movie Festival, 1993), and “Tieta do Agreste” by Cacá Diegues (1996), collaborating as producer, arranger and cellist. In 1998 he wrote the soundtrack (with Antonio Pinto) for the film “Central Station”, by Walter Moreira Salles, winner of the “Gold Bear” as best film of Berlin Movie Festival and also an Oscar nominee. In 1999 Jaques signed the production, arranging and conducting of Caetano Veloso’s soundtrack for Cacá Diegues’ “Orfeu do Carnaval”. In 2001, he worked again with director Fabio Barreto, writing and producing the soundtrack for Mr. Barreto’s last movie “Jacobina”. Morelenbaum’s last movie collaboration was writing, playing, conducting and producing the soundtrack for the movie “Paid”, by Dutch director Laurence Lamers, still to be released in 2005.