Manny Flores & Bassanova

Manny Flores: bass, melodica & percussions
Amalia Castro: electric bass, vocals, percussion, & guitar
Sylvia Garcia: violin
Al Mendez: tenor sax
Arath Corral: electric guitar
David Holden: mandolin & accordian
Raziel Tortolo: congas
Nando Gallardo: drums
Aldo Viramontes: electric bass

Manny made his first trip to Rio de Janiero, Brazil to fulfill a lifelong desire to experience Brazilian music firsthand and to meet one of his favorite musicans:HERMETO PASCOAL. He rented an apartment overlooking the Beco Das Garrafas in Copacabana and would commute to the Rio suburb of Jabour to visit with his Brazilian friends: Albert Suhett, Itibere Zwarg, Marcio Bahia, Fabio Pascoal and of course Hermeto. He was introduced to bassist Adriano Giffoni by Marcio Bahia and has studied with him each summer in Rio de Janeiro. In Brazil, he had the pleasure to hear many musicians including Leny Andrade, JT Meireiles, Filhos de Gandhi and Itibere's Orquestra Familia. Subsequent trips to Brazil have taken him to Bahia, Recife and Olinda. The Esalen Institute in Big Sur was the site of some intensive Brazilian percussion workshops with Airto Moreira. Since that time there has been a large collection of Brazilian percussion instruments in the house. The future brings with it the desire to further explore the world of music with an emphasis on Brazilian music and composition. It has also led Manny to study the Portuguese language in order to understand the culture and music of Brazil.

Phone:  (915) 222-9130
Website:  http://www.myspace.com/mannyfloresjr