Rio: Brazilian Jazz & Bossa Nova
“BEAUTIFUL… #CHILLS”
— ANN POWERS OF NPR MUSIC
“UNIQUE VOICES AND RARE MUSICIANS"
—ERIC FUNK, PBS
Max Hatt and Edda Glass present Rio, a return to the Brazilian Bossa Nova and classic jazz that inspired their nationally touring act, Max Hatt / Edda Glass. Max Hatt / Edda Glass' award-winning original music has taken them far and wide, by airwave in numerous NPR and PBS specials, and on the road with stops including New York City’s Lincoln Center, D.C.’s Kennedy Center, the Sundance Film Festival, and Wilco's Solid Sound Festival. Along the way they have gained recognition and support from the likes of Jazz Road/Doris Duke/Mellon Foundations (2019,2022) and the NPR Mountain Stage/NewSong Contest (Grand Prize 2013), and they frequently work with producer Pat Sansone (Wilco).
It all started with a Bossa Nova band in Montana. "Bossa Nova has these infectious rhythms, this street energy," says Glass, “yet it was originally sung for a few friends in tiny Rio de Janeiro apartments. The melodies are as exacting and sophisticated as Debussy, yet they sound as easy and natural as humans whispering to one another." Praised for her "impeccable vocal command" (PopMatters), she's been compared to a gamut of singers from Astrud Gilberto to Billie Holliday, but ultimately Glass's voice is "one of a kind…you cannot confuse her with another artist" (New York Theatre Guide).
Hatt grew up in the Chicago-land area, studied jazz guitar in the David Baker program at Indiana University, and has taken classes with Pat Metheny, Julian Lage, and Lee Retinour. "We live in a hyped up world," he says on MT-PBS, when asked about his understated style. “We’re over stimulated, measured out in sound bites and ringtones. It’s the information age and we’re swallowed up by this stuff. But is there any real communication going on, is there any intimacy? That’s kind of what we’re about.”
press
“A unique sound.”
— Larry Groce, NPR Mountain Stage
“Decidedly different."
— PopMatters
“Like hand-printed photographs that speak and sway, the material is hypnotic…"
— Lizz Wright
"Exquisite, evocative music."
— John Platt of WFUV
"Subtly poignant, elegantly funky, and haunting without trying to be.”
— Nels Cline, Wilco
“Ocean of Birds captures a moment in time and releases it in one lovely breath.”
— That Mag
“Mesmerizing… cinematic folk-jazz”
— ASCAP’s Playback Magazine at Sundance Film Festival
"True elegance."
— Daytrotter
"...an incomparable spook. "
— Nicole Atkins, Nashville Scene
“Their lyrics/ instrumentals encapsulate the confusing sentiment of feeling both lost and found, all at once.”
— New York Theatre Guide
“Music that creates a sense of vastness within its quiet.”
— Yes Weekly, John Adamian