Ari Colares - Ari Colares e a Canoa (2026) [Hi-Res]

Brazilian percussionist Ari Colares marks forty years in music in 2026. He is one of the country’s leading percussionists, a researcher of traditional rhythms and a teacher who has trained many students. He holds a bachelor’s degree in percussion and a master’s in music education from the University of São Paulo, and began performing at 17 with the popular theatre group Abaçaí – Cultura e Arte. There he studied and staged productions on the diversity of Brazilian folk dances, and he stayed with the group for 25 years.

That experience shaped his career as a musician and educator in Brazil and abroad. He has played with Naná Vasconcelos, Mônica Salmaso, Arnaldo Antunes, Egberto Gismonti, Yamandu Costa, Zizi Possi, Vanessa da Mata and many others. He appeared as a guest soloist in three concerts of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra of London in São Paulo, and in a series of shows with Wynton Marsalis and the Lincoln Center Orchestra, alongside Hamilton de Holanda and Nailor Proveta.

His collaboration with pianist Benjamim Taubkin holds a special place in his career. Together they toured many countries and took part in the projects Clareira, Al Qantara (Brazil and Morocco), Co-Bra Project (Brazil and South Korea), América Contemporânea and Orquestra Popular de Câmara. Since 2004 he has played in the group A Barca, which engages in dialogue with masters of Brazilian popular culture.

From 1993 to 2017 Colares taught popular percussion at Tom Jobim EMESP. He now gives courses and workshops in Brazil and abroad, teaches students in his own studio, is on the music faculty of Faculdade Santa Marcelina and coordinates its postgraduate program “Popular Percussion – Tradition and Invention”. He celebrates the anniversary with his first solo album, “Ari Colares e a Canoa” (2026), which features his own compositions and arrangements of traditional songs from different regions of Brazil, with guest appearances by musicians who marked his path.

Tracklist:
1. Ari Colares - Quilombo
2. Ari Colares - Canoa
3. Ari Colares - Fé
4. Ari Colares - Balança a Folha Coqueiro
5. Ari Colares - Mamãe eu Quero Água
6. Ari Colares - Pra Dandalunda
7. Ari Colares - Dona Dindinha
8. Ari Colares - Recreio