Aragem
- country:Brazil
- region:Rio de Janeiro
- style(s):Bossa Nova, Contemporary
- label:Biscoito Fino
- type:Solo, Composer/Songwriter, Duo, Trio, Quartet, Quintet
- gender:male
- instrumentation:vocal, singer songwriter, jazz combo, pop group, guitar
- artist contact:De Oliveira, Manuel
Line up
- Fred Martins (Voice and Classical Guitar)
FRED MARTINS
“He may be one of the most hidden treasures of the current Brazilian music.” - Manuel Halpern – Jornal de Letras, Portugal.
Outstanding singer, guitarist and songwriter among the Brazilian artists of his generation, Fred Martins, born in Rio de Janeiro, developed his career influenced by bossa nova, samba and Brazilian popular music (MPB). He deepened his relationship with Brazilian music still very young by transcribing musical scores from great masters such as Tom Jobim, Chico Buarque, Gilberto Gil and Dorival Caymmi, among others, for Almir Chediak's famous songbooks. Martins’ compositions have been recorded and performed by a number of renowned Brazilian musicians such as Ney Matogrosso, Adriana Calcanhotto, Zélia Duncan, Maria Rita and MPB4. In Portugal, singer Joana Amendoeira released an entire album dedicated to the songs of Fred Martins.
Martins’ songs are also featured on Globo TV soap operas soundtracks, such as the theme Depressa a vida passa, included in Órfãos da Terra.
His latest work is the album Ultramarino, recorded in Lisbon and released last year, with songs that refer to the bossa-Nova universe with touches of fado and flamenco. Martins’ discography also includes the albums Janelas (2001), followed by Raro e Comum (2005), Tempo Afora (2008), Guanabara (2009), Acrobata, in duo with Ugia Pedreira in Galicia (2011), and Para Além do Muro do Meu Quintal (2016).
Another important work recently developed is the duo with cellist Jaques Morelenbaum, one of the most acclaimed Brazilian musicians, recognized worldwide for his participation in albums and concerts by Tom Jobim, Caetano Veloso, Gilberto Gil, Marisa Monte, Gal Costa, Sting, Mariza, Cesária Évora, Henri Salvador and Ryuichi Sakamoto, among others. Together, they made three concerts in Lisbon in 2019 (see the songs Por um Fio and Coração Vagabundo in the links below), along with the studio recording of the afro-samba Doceamargo, included in the album Ultramarino. In 2021, Fred Martins and Jaques Morelenbaum performed again in Portugal and extended the tour to Italy and Cape Verde. In Cape Verde, the duo performed with Cape Verdean singer Nancy Vieira.
In addition to the latest release of Ultramarino, Martins is also part of the Rua das Pretas Project, produced by Pierre Aderne and shown by RTP1, as well as of several other musical productions. He
also recorded the TV special Tempo Afora (Canal Brasil), later released on DVD. He recently released the DVD A Música é Meu País, shown as a TV special programme by Canal Brasil (Globosat) and RTP1 (Portugal).
Currently living in Lisbon, Martins has been collaborating with various artists from Brazil, Portugal, Spain, Cape Verde, UK, Italy and others. He has performed at several international festivals, such Umbria Jazz, Jazz & Image and Padova Jazz (Italy), Lula World Festival (Canada), Tensamba (Canary Islands), Músicas Portuárias and Cantos na Maré (Spain), Jawhara Festival (Morocco), Sete Sois Sete Luas (Cape Verde), Música dos Três Continentes (Russia), Dias da Música, Nossa Lisboa, and Vila Real Summer Festival (Portugal).