Tulio Araujo

“Neither more nor less. The right place, the right time. Pandeiro in Jazz, yes sir, and full of bossa. A Brazilian from the world, migrant of the music, juggler of the sound. Túlio Araújo.” - Patrícia Palumbo (Brazilian Music Critic) “Tulio Araujo’s work is a master piece of instrumental music, that challenges creation bringing something completely fresh and new.” - Latina Records (Japan) “What this guy does with a Pandeiro in his hands is unbelievable.” - Rolling Stone Brazil Magazine “Tulio Araujo puts the Pandeiro in a place never before thought and it works. Works incredibly.” - Estado de Minas (Brazilian periodical) “Tulio Araujo puts the Pandeiro in his pocket.” - O Tempo (Brazilian periodical) --- Imagine a Pandeiro, absent of drums. Strong thumbs mark the low notes, slaps plays the snare and jingles moving like a cymbal. Welcome to Tulio Araujo’s world. Tulio is a Brazilian musician, carrying advanced degrees and experience in the fields of Percussion, Music Production and Sound Engineering. He has studied with renowned masters Ian Guest (Hungary), Santiago Reyther (Cuba), Marcos Suzano (Brazil), among others. Through his experimentation and study, he dreamt and effectively conceived a way to merge his main instrument with the improvisation universe that Jazz provides. Araujo grew obsessed with metric, rhythmic modulations and polyrhythms. His intense study led him to apply his knowledge and passion into the creation of his four albums: Manguêra (2012), East (2014), Monduland (2017) and Quantum (2019). He has a strong international career, specially in the United States, where he lived for two years playing and teaching. He loves to collaborate with different projects and musicians. He recorded and performed with Guy Mintus, Sivan Arbel, Fleurine, Dani Gurgel, Sergio Santos, Jorge Continentino, Lea Freire, Carlos Malta, Helio Alves, Rogerio Santos, Anat Cohen, Vitor Gonçalves and Eduardo Neves. In 2019 released his fourth album, Quantum, in duo with Brazilian pianist Daniel Grajew. It won two important awards: Best Instrumental Album by Embrulhador and Top 50 Best Jazz Albums by the renowned critic Carlos Calado. During the pandemic Tulio focused his time and energy to enhance his teaching career, creating several online material and doing online workshops. In 2021 he gathered with Pedro Gomes, a talented Brazilian bassist and producer to remotely produce his fifth album called “U“, deeply influenced by electronics, loops and the roots of Brazil. Now Araujo is focused on his new jazz quartet. They are back on the road, playing in several clubs and festivals in Brazil, including a sold out night at the Blue Note Sao Paulo, waiting for the right time to record his sixth album totally dedicated to adaptations of classical Jazz tunes to the pandeiro. ---