Brazilian Jazz Sessions

– DISCLAIMER: We are working hard on the organization of this festival, new information is arriving on this page every day!

Brazilian Jazz Sessions is a festival dedicated to Brazilian Jazz – known in Brazil as musica instrumental brasileira – and creates a home for great Brazilian instrumentalists already touring in Europe.
The festival is curated by Mariano González and Nelson Latif and draws back to an already long tradition of great Summer festivals dedicated to Brazilian music in the Netherlands.

July 2026

Dates and locations to be announced!

The 2026 edition is expected to host the following guests, among others:

Tiago Santos
One of the strongest names of the contemporary 10-string mandolin scene, the mandolinist, multi-instrumentalist, composer and musicologist from Ribeirão Preto, Brazil is a PhD candidate and member of the UNESCO Chair on Transcultural Music Studies at "Hochschule für Musik FRANZ LISZT" in Weimar, Germany. Tiago has been performing concerts and giving courses and workshops worldwide with performances, compositions, studies, and research for mandolin that mix different backgrounds and elements of Brazilian, Latin American, and other classical musical genres. He has recorded five albums: “Ludicamente” (2023), “Afinidades” (2022), “O Bandolim Polifônico de 10 cordas” (2019), “Nosso Tempo” (2017), and “Chorobossambando” (2013).

Alessandro Penezzi
Born in Piracicaba (SP), Alessandro Penezzi is one of the great virtuosos of Brazilian guitar. His concerts have been seen in various countries including the USA, Russia, Japan, Gabon, Angola, Italy, Germany, Denmark, Kosovo, Macedonia, Belgium, the Netherlands, Argentina, Uruguay, Colombia, Morocco, and Portugal. Graduated in Popular Music from Unicamp with a specialization in Creative Processes from Faculdade Souza Lima, he has been teaching courses, workshops, and seminars at various music festivals in Brazil and abroad. A multi-instrumentalist – he plays 7-string guitar, tenor guitar, cavaquinho, mandolin and flute – and [is] a prolific composer. He has received honors and nominations for his performances as an instrumentalist and composer, and has been highlighted in the Visa MPB Instrumental (2001), Tim de Música Brasileira (2006), Shell de Teatro and Prêmio da Música Brasileira (2006) awards.

Bosco Oliveira
João Bosco de Oliveira was born in Brasília in 1967, and started his guitar studies at the age of 8. He studied at Escola de Música de Brasília and the Universidade de Brasília - UNB, graduating in 1992. Bosco took part in several international guitar competitions and won four of them. He has performed in Brasília and other Brazilian cities, and always receives excellent reviews in the Brazilian press. Bosco Oliveira is a professor at the classic guitar department of the Brasília Music School, where he has been teaching since 1993.

Sandro Alves
From Rio de Janeiro, percussionist Sandro Alves is well-known for his samba roots. He is a specialist at mixing the traditional styles of Afro-Brazilian music with modern jazz. He can be seen all around Brazil as a sideman of some of the country's star singers.

Daniel Rodrigues
Daniel Rodrigues graduated from the Mozarteum College of Music in São Paulo with a degree in Classical Trombone. He studied Audio Engineering at Omid Audio Academy. He has participated in recordings and live performances with bands and artists such as Igor Prado Band, Paula Lima, Sandra de Sá, Os Opalas, Magno Bissoli Quintet, Alício Amaral, Brasília Samba Jazz, among others. Currently, Daniel is the director of the Mente do Artero project and the Audio Coletivo recording studio in Brasília, DF. He works as a composer, arranger, multi-instrumentalist, and music producer across various artistic fields.

Nelson Latif
Cavaquinho and acoustic guitar player Nelson Latif formed his musical identity in the legendary jazz scene of 1980's São Paulo. With roots in choro and jazz, Latif merges Brazilian styles and a classical guitar technique with diverse musical influences. In his melodic phrasing one hears bebop and Brazilian syncopations. As cultural promoter, Nelson Latif has been coordinating educational projects for universities and cultural institutions around the world.

Mariano González
Multi-instrumentalist and musicologist from São Paulo, Brazil. His percussion style is all about the expressive potential of single instruments, and seeking the mind-body-instrument connection on any musical style. As a researcher, he is dedicated to percussive music from African and the Latin American diaspora, and has recently defended a PhD dissertation in musicology and linguistics at Utrecht University in the Netherlands, focusing on the drum languages of the Yoruba in Nigeria. As a lecturer, Mariano has worked at the UNESCO Chair on Transcultural Music Studies at the FRANZ-LISZT University of Music in Weimar (Germany), the Utrecht Conservatory HKU (Netherlands) and the TU Delft (Netherlands).