Carlos Henrique Pereira

Carlos Henrique Pereira is an accomplished composer, piano and acoustic guitar player from one of the most influential and dynamic musical regions of South America, the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil.

An instrumentalist trained in both classical and jazz traditions, Carlos ventured into composition early in his life and without any formal training was named the youngest composer to have a work selected for the Brazilian Contemporary Music Biennial in Rio de Janeiro in 1983, where his music was played alongside some of the greatest Brazilian modern composers.

Carlos debuted his first L.P. in his early twenties and the album’s eight original compositions drew the attention of the British label, Timeless Records, which released the album throughout Europe and Japan. 

Following the success of his first album, Carlos moved to the United States where he studied jazz, harmony and improvisation in New York City with Mike Longo, Rick Stone and many other jazz musicians. He performed throughout New York in venues such as Carnegie Hall, the Knitting Factory, Merkin Hall, and Satalla. Launching his own recording studio in Brooklyn, Carlos established himself as a music producer and he recorded and produced more than 200 projects with artists from around the world like Nana Vasconcelos, Milton Nascimento, Toninho Horta, Dom Salvador, Cyro Baptista, Takuya Nakamura, Tony Cedras, Bakithi Kumalo, Hugo Fatoruso, Rogerio Botter Maio, Peck Allmond, Matt Dariou, Rubin Kodheli, Ernesto VillaLobos, Sue Maskaleris, just to name a few.

In 2003, Carlos released “Água e Terra”, his second complete album of all original music. It was during these years that he also wrote and recorded a large catalog of music that was heard on American and Brazilian television and radio and has been used in numerous films and dance company performances.

In 2005 he felt the call of home, and he returned to his hometown of Juiz de Fora, Brazil, where he continued composing and performing his original compositions.

In 2009 Carlos was awarded a grant to compose his third album, “Minas, Gerais”, which was released in 2011. Titled and dedicated to his home state, the album received high praise from critics and fans alike and was nominated for the 24th Brazilian Music Awards.

Carlos and his young family now calls the wine country of Northern California home. He performs regularly throughout the area. He played at the Healdsburg Jazz Festival in June of 2013 and the Brazilian Music Festival BrazilFest at the Cornelia Street Café, in New York City in January of 2014. He is one of the awardees of the 2016 Musical Program of the SFFCM, San Francisco Friends of Chamber Music.

Drawing inspiration from his new landscape, Carlos has worked with Bay Area musicians to shape his latest album, “There and Here”, which he calls a love letter both to his new surroundings and to his home in Brazil.

• Website: http://www.carloshpereira.com/