— Your biography says that your journey as a musician started when you were a child, inspired by the very streets you grew up on. What influence did your parents have on you as a musician?
— You could say that I learned music while playing soccer. There was music playing somewhere nearby whenever we were playing soccer. In the end, music and soccer blended into one for me. I fell in love with percussion at the age of 10 or 11. At first, I just listened to the musicians who were all around me, at home and on the street, and then I tried my hand at various instruments, and began to study the rhythms typical of my native environment in Sao Paolo. There were several musicians in my family, and I picked up a thing or two from them.
— Why did you choose jazz?
— I didn't, it just worked out that way. I began by playing Brazilian Popular Music with some incredible musicians, such as Elis Regina and Wilson Simonal. Then I turned to American tunes, started listening to Herbie Hancock and Michael Jackson, it taught me a lot. Earth Wind and Fire had a huge impact on me as well. I had only heard some snatches of jazz before I left Brazil. But then, Brazilian music itself has some jazz flavor in it.
My personal jazz age started when I moved to New York. I played with the legendary McCoy Tyner, Michael Brecker, Victor Bailey, Omar Hakim and Darryl Jones.
— Eddie Van Halen… How did he wind up on your list?
— He's a good friend of mine. In fact, we're related: his brother Alex married the sister of my fiancée at the time. That's how I met Eddie. We often gathered at Alex's and jammed. Sometimes we recorded our jams in the studio. There was a lot to learn from the Van Halen brothers: for example, discipline. They were religiously devoted to their music, polishing every tiny sound, and they never gave themselves a break. But they were very open-minded, too. Their methods had a tremendous influence on me.
Now, after all the years of collaboration with so many musicians, I see that music knows no genres. It is divided into good and bad music, and that's all there is to it. When I am asked what kind of music I play, I say I play what gets straight to my heart and makes my soul sing.
I owe a great many friendships to music. Something interesting happened recently. I never expected to see people at the Koktebel Jazz Party who I hadn't seen in ten years, among them, Tom Harrell. We shared a lot in our time: we recorded together and went on a European tour. I was walking along, and ran into his wife. I couldn't believe my eyes. "Is Tom here?" I cried. Who could think we would meet in Crimea on the Black Sea, of all places, after all these years! I also met Victor Jones, and Valery Ponomaryov. It was like reuniting with my family from New York, where I spent 27 years.
— Those must have been good times…
— Yes, it was an incredible time. But then, you shouldn't look back on your life, only forward. That's a part of life. Music brings us to the places where we are needed. It brought me to New York and Crimea. I didn't go back to Russia for 22 years after coming to Moscow in October 1992, so the Koktebel festival helped me to celebrate an anniversary of a kind… (Laughs)
— What changes did you notice in Moscow, in Russia and in Russians after 22 years?
— A lot has changed, really. The recent events have been sad. Two fraternal and neighboring nations should not be divided. I hope things will get back to normal. Meanwhile, it's the common people, not the politicians, who suffer. What we need are openness and positivity. It's impossible to constantly hold hatred in your heart.
I think the Koktebel Jazz Party brought happiness to people during some hard times. They really needed it. When I walked around Koktebel, I saw people having a good time. I took some photos of happy faces. Ukrainians, Russians, Tatars and people of other nationalities were simply happy.
The excellent organization of the festival impressed me, too. Everything went off at a high level, despite a shower that soaked my instruments and messed up our sound check. However, the team of sound engineers and assistants was top-notch. The audiences were warm and incredible. It's an amazing festival. It brings peace and goodness, and that's the most important thing.