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Leandro Fortes | Musician

Leandro Fortes | Musician

Leandro Fortes

Guitarist · Composer · Educator

Rooted in Brazilian music
South American influences
Progressive-rock energy
The language of modern jazz

Featured Recording

Diagonal

Released by the Leandro Fortes Group in 2018, Diagonal brings together rhythmic invention, electric textures, counterpoint and improvisation. The album reflects a musical language shaped by Brazilian music, modern jazz and the expressive force of progressive rock.

ABOUT

Between Brazilian music and modern jazz

Brazilian musician Leandro Fortes has developed a distinctive musical language shaped by a wide range of influences. His compositions draw from Brazilian music and a broader South American palette, alongside the energy of progressive rock and the language of modern jazz.

Fortes released his first solo album, Escolhas, in 2012, featuring legendary Hermeto Pascoal as a special guest. Since then, he has released six albums of original music and appeared on more than twenty recordings as a performer, composer and arranger.

Throughout his career, he has performed and collaborated with musicians including André Mehmari, Gabriel Grossi, Aníbal Rojas, Vinícius Dorin and Jota P., as well as singers Janayna Pereira, Izabel Padovani, Gina Roche, Adriana Godoy and Rachell Luz. His international performances include the Jazz en Lima International Festival in Peru, the Cornelia Street Café in New York City and the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago.

His sextet project Diagonal toured through Brazil’s Sesc circuit and received praise from leading musicians. Grammy Award-winning pianist Fábio Torres described the work as having achieved a rare maturity. Guitarist and University of North Texas professor Davy Mooney described Fortes as “one of the finest guitarists” he had encountered in Brazil.

Fortes’ compositions have also been performed and recorded by the UDESC Academic Orchestra, and his work has extended into chamber settings combining guitar, strings, Brazilian music and poetry.

He has taught workshops on improvisation at USP, UNIVALI and UFSJ, and is the founder and artistic coordinator of the Seminário de Improvisação Musical Brasileira (SIMB), held in 2015 and 2018, bringing together musicians, researchers, critics and scholars through concerts, workshops and panel discussions.

More recently, Fortes has expanded his musical language through a trio format in which his voice has taken on a more prominent role, bringing singing into dialogue with guitar, composition and improvisation.

SELECTED WORK

Recordings and projects

Dois Mundos — 2008

Original instrumental music by Quarteto Rio Vermelho.

Instrumental da Casa — 2015

Composer and guest guitarist with Orquestra Acadêmica UDESC.

Miragem — 2009

Collaborative album by Quarteto Rio Vermelho and Alegre Correa.

Alujazz — 2016

An original-music ensemble co-led by Leandro Fortes.

Escolhas — 2012

Solo debut featuring Hermeto Pascoal

Diagonal — 2018

The latest released album by the Leandro Fortes Group.

CURRENT PROJECTS

Leandro Fortes is developing a new album that brings vocals and guitar together in his original music. After years of keeping his voice and his interest for heavy music aside, he is embracing both alongside the Brazilian music and modern jazz that have long shaped his compositions. The project combines songwriting, instrumental composition and improvisation.

LF TRIO - New album coming soon

Diagonal is an original project by Leandro Fortes, featuring arrangements for sextet that blend elements of South American music, classical music, jazz and progressive rock with his Brazilian roots.

According to pianist Fábio Torres, a Grammy Award winner, “the work has achieved a rare maturity, creating original sonorities through the exploration of timbre and counterpoint.”

In 2024, the group performed at JazzB in São Paulo. In 2019, Diagonal was selected for the SESC Music Circuit, touring eleven cities across the state of Santa Catarina. The ensemble also took part in the second edition of SIMB, the Brazilian Music Improvisation Seminar, the previous year.

Davy Mooney, professor at the University of North Texas, described the project as follows: “The new sextet is stunning, full of hip writing, rhythmically, harmonically and melodically, and the solos are modern and hip!”

LEANDRO FORTES GROUP

DUO STRÖHER & FORTES

Duo Ströher & Fortes brings together flutist Karine Ströher and guitarist Leandro Fortes in an intimate exploration of Brazilian instrumental music. Blending the spontaneity of popular music with a chamber-music sensibility, the duo draws on choro, samba, frevo and other Brazilian traditions, while also incorporating influences from Argentine forms such as milonga and chamamé.

Their performances are shaped by dynamic contrast, expressive phrasing and rhythmic variety, moving between virtuosic passages and more lyrical, delicate moments.

PAST PROJECTS

Quarteto Rio Vermelho

Cia Trupe Toe

Alujazz

OSMB & Botter Maio

Afetos, Música e Poesia

Instrumental da Casa

SOUNDTRACKS

Leandro Fortes has composed original music for film and dance projects.

Alongside his own projects, Leandro Fortes has contributed to recordings by other artists as an instrumentalist, arranger, producer and mixing engineer. This selection brings together collaborations across a wide range of musical genres.

Recording Collaborations

2006 — Debbie Cunningham — The Rest of Your Life
Guitar.

2008 — Gabriela Nascimento — 2º FEMIC
Guitar and arrangement.

2009 — Luiz Barbosa Neto — Labirintos
Guitar.

2009 — Quarteto Rio Vermelho — LIVE DVD
Guitar, composition, mixing and mastering.

2011 — Annita — Tantas Canções
Guitar.

2011 — Alto Sunrise — Alto Sunrise
Vocal arrangement.

2012 — Marcelo Müller — Caracol
Mixing.

2013 — Tatiana Cobbett & Marcoliva — Corte Costura
Guitar and composition.

2013 — Cláudia Passos — Mar à Vista
Guitar, mandolin.

2013 — Drea — Trust
Guitar.

2014 — François Muleka — Feijão e Sonho
Guitar.

2014 — Meliza e Piero — Meliza e Piero
Guitar and mandolin.

2014 — Sami Tarik — Executivo do Pandeiro
Arrangement.

2015 — Jurerê Jazz — Volume 1
Guitar, composition.

2016 — Rico Calegari — Rico
Strings arrangement.

2018 — Ale de Maria — Mãe d’Água
Mandolin.

2019 — Daiana D’Ávila — Descoberta
Guitar.

2019 — Johanna Hierschler — Uaçá Semente
Guitar.

2021 — Júlio Cruz — Segredos de uma Ilha
Mandolin.

2024 — Rogério Bottermaio — Sem Palavras
Guitar.

2024 — Ivan de Souza — Ilumina
Guitar.

2024 — Vitória Adamy — October 3rd
Guitar and production.

2024 — Tom Tom Musical — Pipoca
Production, arrangements, guitar, mixing and mastering.

SIMB — Seminário de Improvisação Musical Brasileira

(Brazilian Improvisation Seminar)

Founded and curated by Leandro Fortes and produced by Mônica Becker, SIMB brings musicians, students and audiences together to explore improvisation in Brazilian music. Held in Florianópolis in 2015 and 2018, its first two editions combined workshops, concerts and conversations, creating opportunities to share musical experiences and approaches across generations.

TEACHING

Alongside his artistic career, Leandro Fortes has worked extensively as an music educator. His approach connects technique with musical understanding, helping students develop independence, expression and a deeper relationship with repertoire.

Leandro Fortes’s teaching practice grows directly from his work as a performer, composer, arranger and ensemble director. Lessons combine practical repertoire, technical development and a clear understanding of how music works.

Rather than treating technique as an isolated goal, Fortes helps each student build the tools needed to hear more deeply, make confident choices and communicate with other musicians. The work is adapted to the student’s experience, interests and objectives, from first steps to advanced study.

Areas of study

Guitar and acoustic guitar

Technique, rhythm, harmony, repertoire, improvisation, accompaniment, chord melody and musical interpretation.

Improvisation and musicianship

Harmony, rhythm, melodic development, ear training and practical strategies for creating coherent musical ideas.

Experience

Fortes holds a degree in Music Education from UDESC and has taught in schools, music programs, workshops and private settings for more than two decades. His workshops have been presented in Brazil and abroad, including educational activities in Philadelphia and at institutions such as USP, UFSJ, UDESC, UNIVALI and Sesc.

CONTACT

Contact & Booking

For concert booking, festivals, artistic collaborations, recording sessions, workshops or private lessons, please use the form below.

Based in São Paulo, Brazil. Available for selected projects in Brazil and internationally.

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