Biography
Brazilian music has been the playing field for this instrumentalist, arranger, composer, and producer.
Benjamim Taubkin started his studies at the age of 18 and soon begin to dedicate himself fully to this career, working in important plays such as Ópera do Malandro from Chico Buarque de Holanda, and 39 of Flávio Rangel; and at contemporary dance studios like Ruth Rachou, Klaus Viana and Clarisse Abujamra. Inspire by the desire of playing jazz and bossa nova, he performed in music venues in São Paulo.
In 1997, he released his first album A Terra e o Espaço Aberto, which has mostly original themes. Having as guests players, Toninho Carrasqueira, Lui Coimbra, Teco Cardoso, Caíto Marcondes and Marcos Suzano, the CD was nominated for two important awards in Brazil: Sharp and Movimento.
As a musician he has participated in several formations, ranging from solo work to symphonic orchestras – presented in Brazil and abroad. He has performed with prestigious artists such as Marcos Suzano, Banda Savana, Rafael Rabello, Zizi Possi, Moacir Santos, Paulo Moura , Mônica Salmaso, Hermeto Paschoal.
His current projects as musician and director include: the Latin american collective América Contemporânea, the Orquestra Popular de Câmara, the choro ensemble Moderna Tradição, his work with the traditional music group Abaçai and his jazz project Trio + 1. Also a duo with dancer Morena Nascimento . And with percussionist Adriano Adewale.
Some of the most recent projects he’s participated in as musician and arranger include: Jobim Sinfônico, Samwad – Rua do Encontro, which promoted dialogue between Brazil and India; and Milágrimas, which celebrated the encounter with South Africa. Also developed special projects involving collaborations with musicians from Korea , Morocco , Spain and Israel.
He has been composing soundtracks , mainly for documentaries, like Genesis, about the work of the photographer Sebastião Salgado and Oscar Niemeyer - O Arquiteto da Invenção. Benjamim was the music director of a variety of projects such as Sons e Imagens da Terra, which brings a map of the labor singings from Brazil; and also a musical installation at the expo Bossa Nova 50 years.
In his solo career he recorded his second CD in New York at Fazioli Salon. The album was released in the US by Adventure Music and then in Brasil by Núcleo Contemporâneo. With this work, Benjamim has been performing in important venues and festivals, such as The Vortex Jazz Club, in London, and at Ruta del Cister, in Spain. And he did in 2009 an artistic residence in Austria, invited as composer and instrumentalist in Krems, Austria.
In 1997, Benjamim founded Núcleo Contemporâneo, an independent label and producer company, dedicated to the popular instrumental music from Brazil. The label launched since then around 75 CDs.
He has been traveling in South and Center America aiming to know more about those countries' music production, seeking to promote dialogue and exchange networking.
As musician or producer Benjamim is in more than 130 albums and directed around 500 concerts. He is the curator for Mercado Cultural da Bahia, a platform focused on Brazilian and Latin American music; and for ELA - Encontro Latino-Americano, a forum to discusse the new paths for the latin music. Benjamim was on the board of the European Forum for Worldwide Music Festivals (2008 2012) world. . www.viamagia.org/mercadocultural
Among the most important festivals and venues where he performed, are: Joe’s Pub, Disney Hall, e Fazioli Salon (USA), Teatro Amadeo Roldán (Cuba); Orquestra do Rio Infinito (Costa Rica and Nicaragua); Festival Internacional de Jazz de Punta del Este, Oficina de Música Brasileira na Universidade de Montevidéo (Uruguay); Festival Rudolstadt, Massala Festival e Rádio WDR (Germany), Festival Glatt und Verkehrt (Austria), Auditori Barcelona and the festivals Etnosur, Kesse, La Garrida and Ruta del Cister (Spain); The Vortex Jazz Club (UK); Sfinks (Belgium); Ópera de Paris (France); Festival Timitar (Morocco); Festival III Delphic Games (Korea); and Oficina de Música de Curtiba, do Festival Instrumental da Bahia, Sabará Instrumental, Festa da Música e Música na Pampulha, Festival de Jazz de Guaramiranga, Projeto Prelúdios da Primavera, Olinda Jazz Festival e MIMO – Mostra Internacional de Música em Olinda, Auditório Ibirapuera, TUSP, Galeria Olido, SESCs, Centro Cultural São Paulo, Casa de Francisca, Memorial da América Latina, Sampa Jazz, Virada Cultural da cidade e do estado, Festival de Choro no Centro Cultural Banco do Brasil (Brazil).
As a cultural producer organized projects in a lot of different institutions - as Itaú Cultural - where , coordinating the music department. created Rumos- a project that mapped for the first time, a big part of the music that was being produced in Brazil at that time- 1999-2000. Brazil ,as a country of continental dimensions had a vast territory unknown by the "urban developed centers."
The initiative also mapped the infra structure side of the independent scene- in the whole country- radios, stages, producers . Other institutions - SESC, Centro Cultural Banco do Brasil, the State Department of Culture in Sao Paulo- where he was the music consultant in 1993 and 1994.
Taubkin has been traveling the world participating in meetings, conferences and seminars in places as : Australia, Austria, Mexico, Spain , Denmark , Cuba, Costa Rica, Colombia, Argentina, Germany , Hungary ,Morocco, EUA, Cape Verde, Canada, Israel, Korea, Uruguay , UK , France.
In 2011 he started a new small cultural center in Sao Paulo, Casa do Nucleo, dedicated to present concerts, seminars, workshops. In the same year he was appointed music curator of Europalia Brasil- a special event held in Belgium - that brought around 50 artists from Brazil , from different fields, to the European Continent.
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