Isaïas Alvès

A child of São Luís, in north-east Brazil, Isaías is a percussionist and composer nourished by the popular traditions of Maranhão.

"Enchantement" is an original musical show by Isaías Alves that weaves Afro-Maranhense and Indigenous rhythmic matrices with the contemporary language of Afro-diasporic jazz and post-modal structures. The work is the result of more than twenty years of research into the cultural expressions of Maranhão, such as bumba meu boi, the festivals of the Divino Espírito Santo and practices of Afro-Maranhense origin, transposed into a contemporary instrumental language.

(Lanna Luiza, cultural journalist and producer • human rights)

A child of São Luís, in north-east Brazil, Isaías is a percussionist and composer nourished by the popular traditions of Maranhão. He grew up to the rhythm of street drums, processions and festivals before taking his sounds to Europe. With him, tradition meets improvisation, jazz takes root in the land and rhythm becomes a language.

… are conceived as a living space. A place where musicians meet and experiment, where the pulse becomes a common language. Where every evening can tip somewhere else.