Villa-Lobos — Erika Ribeiro
2026
- Music production and arrangements: Marcelo Galter
listen to the album
new release
2026
Marcelo Galter investiga a beleza sem fim de Dorival Caymmi
Rocinante Records (2026)
“This is an album made by musicians from Bahia. We are musicians from Bahia, born into this tradition, and interested in claiming our connection to Caymmi’s music and everything it represents.”Marcelo Galter
Marcelo Galter: piano, vocals and handclaps
Ldson Galter: bass, vocals and handclaps
Reinaldo Boaventura: percussion, vocals and handclaps
Luizinho do Jêje: percussion, vocals and handclaps
Mû Mbana: vocals (1A, 1B and 2B), serdô — Fulani flute (4A and 1B) and handclaps
All arrangements by Marcelo Galter, except “Promessa”.
In this new work, Marcelo Galter deepens a creative approach that has shaped his artistic trajectory: transposing musical languages from other instruments to the piano. Drawing on the work of Dorival Caymmi, this exploration expands through a dialogue with the viola de machete of Bahia’s Recôncavo region, the berimbau and Afro-Bahian drums.
“I needed to immerse myself in these musical languages to develop my own way of playing the piano. For me, the power of oral tradition lies in the transmission of knowledge through the body, the voice and shared experience, rather than through written systems alone. This same spirit also guided Caymmi, who drew on his own experiences of Bahia’s past — from samba de roda to the melodic calls of street vendors — to develop his distinctive way of composing, singing and playing the guitar.”Marcelo Galter
- Artistic direction and music production
- Marcelo Galter and Sylvio Fraga
- Musical direction and arrangements
- Marcelo Galter
- Recording
- Guido Pera
- Mixing
- Pedro Durães
- Mastering
- Zino Mikorey at Vivid Dreams
- Label
- Rocinante — Rio de Janeiro
selected press
- A Deep Exploration of Dorival Caymmi’s MusicFarofafá · September 2026 · In Portugueseread ↗
- Marcelo Galter on Caymmi, Musical Research and His Bahian RootsRádio Cultura FM / Supertônica · September 2026 · In Portugueseread ↗
- Marcelo Galter Reimagines CaymmiJornal A Tarde · September 2026 · In Portugueseread ↗
- Marcelo Galter and the Endless Beauty of Dorival CaymmiTeclas e Afins · October 2026 · In Portugueseread ↗
original
discography
Bacia do Cobre — 2021
Rocinante Records
Bacia do Cobre marks Marcelo Galter’s emergence as a composer and leader of his own project. The album brings together rhythmic systems, composition and improvisation in a musical language that moves between ancestral traditions and invention, establishing elements that would become central to his artistic exploration.
watch the concert
Bacia do Cobre
Espaço Cultural BNDES (2024)
listen to the album
project
highlights
listen to the albums
Mocofaia
2024
- Compositions: Marcelo Galter, Sylvio Fraga and Luizinho do Jêje
- Artistic direction, music production and arrangements: Luizinho do Jêje, Marcelo Galter and Sylvio Fraga
- Vocals, keyboards and synth bass: Marcelo Galter
Atlântico Negro — Ilessi
2024
- Musical direction and arrangements: Marcelo Galter
- Music production: Marcelo Galter and Sylvio Fraga
- Pianos: Marcelo Galter
Brejo das Almas — José Arimatéa
2022
- Compositions: Marcelo Galter (solo and co-written)
- Artistic direction and music production: Marcelo Galter and Sylvio Fraga
- Musical direction: Marcelo Galter
- Piano and organ: Marcelo Galter
O Enigma Lexeu — Letieres Leite Quinteto
2019
- Acoustic piano, Rhodes, Wurlitzer, Minimoog, Roland RS-202 and harmonium: Marcelo Galter
biography
Marcelo
Galter
Composer, pianist, arranger and musical director Marcelo Galter has developed a distinctive musical language through an ongoing exploration of Bahia’s musical traditions and their potential for reinvention in contemporary music.
Born in Salvador, Brazil, he developed a close artistic collaboration spanning more than two decades with conductor and composer Letieres Leite, contributing to a movement that renewed Afro-Bahian instrumental music through the exploration of its rhythmic patterns and structures. This collaboration includes O Enigma Lexeu (2019), an album by the Letieres Leite Quinteto. His artistic journey also includes collaborations with Hermeto Pascoal, Maria Bethânia, Omara Portuondo and Tiganá Santana.
With Bacia do Cobre (2021), his first album as a composer and bandleader, released by Rocinante Records, Galter established his artistic identity through an approach that brings together composition, improvisation and Afro-Bahian rhythmic systems. In 2024, he released Mocofaia, a collaborative album with Luizinho do Jêje and Sylvio Fraga, further expanding his work in collective music-making.
In August 2026, he released Marcelo Galter investiga a beleza sem fim de Dorival Caymmi on Rocinante Records, further developing his exploration of Bahia’s musical creative processes and the relationships between tradition, oral transmission and invention in contemporary Brazilian music.
about Marcelo
“Marcelo’s music is marked by dissonances and asymmetries, each in its rightful place. A sound that is both contemporary and timeless.”João Donato
“Bacia do Cobre is the realization of a dream of mine: a truly original Afro-Brazilian piano. It will become a landmark album. This is a historic moment in our music.”Letieres Leite
“In my singing live the thousand pianos of Marcelo Galter.”Ilessi
“Bacia do Cobre is an extraordinary album. It is intellectual, but not cold. It has a warm feel, and the colours and shapes are fascinating. It is a great recording by a great musician.”Graham Haynes