Carlos Ezequiel is a drummer and composer who has been working with Brazilian music and Jazz since 1992. Originally from the state of Alagoas, in the northeast of Brazil, Carlos performed with a variety of local artists in the early 1990’s, performing in the I Maceió International Jazz Festival in 1995. In the fol­lowing year he won a scholarship to study at Berklee College of Music, in Boston, where he achieved his Bachelor’s degree in 1999.

Carlos’ curriculum includes nearly 30 European performances, in addition to shows in the United States and all over Brazil. He has participated in important music festivals, including the Montreux Jazz Festi­val (Switzerland), Schelde Jazz Festival (Holland), Cascavel Jazz Festival (Brazil), Best of Berklee 2000 (United States), among others. During the five years he lived in the Unites States, he worked with various East Coast musicians, including Jaleel Shaw and Fernando Brandão.

In 1997, during his stay in Boston, Carlos began a partnership with guitarist Lupa Santiago. The two gave various performances and recorded the Cd “Images” in the beginning of 2000. On returning to Brazil, the duo signed a contract with Mix House label and the Cd received a nomination for the Latin Grammy of 2002 as “Best Latin Jazz Album”. Carlos and Lupa have performed frequently with Vitor Alcântara (saxo­phones) and Guto Brambilla (bass), and in 2002 the group assumed the name Sinequanon. Carlos continues to work with the group as an instrumentalist and composer.

In March of 2001, Carlos was nominated for the Brazilian Visa Music Award as Best Instrumentalist. As a sideman he has performed with American artists Kurt Rosenwinkel, Howard Levy and David Liebman in their Brazilian tours, and he performs on a frequent basis with Brazilian artists Sizão Machado (bass), Nelson Faria and Pollaco (guitar), Daniel D’Alcântara (trumpet), and Marcelo Coelho (saxophone). Carlos is also a faculty member at Souza Lima Music College in São Paulo. From 2002 to 2007 he was musical supervisor for Brazilian drumset magazine “Batera & Percussão”.

Book: Melodic Interpretation for the Drums