Pedro Martins presents an exciting trip which elegantly fuses Pop sensibilities with South American elements, all the while undergoing an undoubtedly jazzy treatment.” – All About Jazz
Pedro Martins hit the headlines in 2015, when he won the prestigious Montreux Guitar Competition as a young Brazilian prodigy and made a strong impression on the jury formed by Kurt Rosenwinkel and John McLaughlin. After studying guitar and piano as a child, this eclectic Brazilian musician has become a multi-instrumentalist, singer, and songwriter perfectly at ease with typical Brazilian genres like samba and choro, as well as with jazz, fusion, progressive rock, and world music.
Pedro has recently lent his playing and songwriting talents to Thundercat’s song It Is What It Is (2020), Eric Clapton’s song Heart of a Child (2022), Brad Mehldau’s Jacob’s Ladder (2022) and Genevieve Atardi’s album Forever Forever (2023). Pedro has also collaborated with Hamilton de Holanda, Michael Pipoquinha, Jacob Collier, and Daniel Santiago, who produced his first album Dreaming High (2012).
As a member of Kurt Rosenwinkel’s Caipi Band, Pedro can be heard playing guitar, keyboards, and singing on the 2017 release “Caipi” (Heartcore Records). The album has received universal praise from critics and audiences alike. In September 2018, Caipi was invited to headline the prestigious Eric Clapton’s Crossroads Guitar Festival, and so was the Brazilian duo formed by Daniel Santiago & Pedro Martins, marking the first time Brazilians headlined the landmark festival. The event led to Clapton’s participation in Daniel Santiago’s latest album, Song For Tomorrow and on Pedro’s upcoming album, Rádio Mistério (Heartcore Records). Both acts are confirmed on the 2023 Crossroads Guitar Festival.
Martins’ second solo album, VOX (2019), dreams up a jazz fusion sound infused with deep Brazilian background elements and pop rock sensibilities. VOX is the result of a two-year recording and production collaboration with Rosenwinkel and features an all-star cast of supporting musicians: Brad Mehldau, Chris Potter, Kyle Crane, Frederico Heliodoro, and Antonio Loureiro.
2020 saw the release of two important albums: “Cumplicidade”, Pedro Martins & Michael Pipoquinha’s first album as a duo showcasing their mind-blowing interplay of bass and electric guitar inspired by Brazilian roots music. “It Is What It Is”, album by seasoned Angeleno bassist Thundercat that features Pedro Martins on the title-track and that has been awarded the Grammy for Best Progressive R&B album in 2021.
