Welcome to rio-samba.com
Here you will find all kind of information and offers about Samba, such as workshops and classes in brazilian percussion, concerts, shows (samba, forró etc.), travel guides to the world of samba in Rio de Janeiro and recommendations for instruments and the right dealers in Europe.
The owner of this site is Chris Quade Couto.
Together with his wife Shari Couto Quade, Serrinha Raíz and Thalita Santos he creates the content and offers about the Samba of Rio de Janeiro in Cologne, Germany and whole Europe.
During the past workshop tours in 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016 2017 and 2018 Serrinha and Chris gave lessons in many different cities throughout the whole world (Tokio, Paris, Rome, Beirut, Vienna, Budapest, Tours, Rotterdamm, Berlin, Porto, Naples, Glasgow, etc.) and are going to continue this "tradition" in 2019.
Serrinha and Chris are well known to for their special work on technique, groove and timing. Serrinha will be teaching intensively the Caixas and Surdos, while Chris takes especial care of the Repiques, Tamborins and Chocalhos. Because of the perfect teamwork of the two, one is able to conduct the workshopgroup, while the other can walk through the lines and help individual people and instrumentgroups. That way the group wins valuable time and learns more in less time. Also the dividing in instrumentgroups is much easier to handle because of the teamwork.
After two very successfull workshops with Thalita and Chris in Septembre 2014, the two were planing to be back to give some special Team-Workshops in 2017.
In 2015 Thalita was the first female Mestra de Bateria of a special group (1st league) Sambaschool in Rio de Janeiro ever (Unidos do Viradouro)! Also she ist famous for her excellent tmaborim-youtube-channel. Unfortunately because of too little interest, we had to cancel the workshops in 2018.
The workshop goal and content will always be arranged to the particular band or the participants, but basically the focus is always on technique, timing, swing and new paradinhas (breaks) from Rio de Janeiro.
Biographies of Thalita, Serrinha & Chris here.
Prices and free dates on request!!!
Requests please directly to Chris
Workshopzeiten:
• Workshops with Serrinha & Chris in 2019 on request
• Workshops only with Chris throughout the WHOLE YEAR
Private lessons/Coaching
(Individual)
The private lesson offers the student a training and assistance in shaping his/her own musical personality. It is always based on the personality of the student and the set goal and is then individually matched to it. Private lessons can be taken either temporarily (for example, to get a faster connection in a new band) or run regularly, which, experience shows, is more exhausting for the student, but on the other hand makes min/her have a much faster progress. This intensive coaching is the perfect choice for leaders of samba groups.
Workshops
(Group/Small group)
There are two variations of workshops:
1)
In a workshop, organized by koelnsamba.de, the aim is already given. Acording to this aim it might be neccessary to have some prior knowledge to be able to participate.
2)
In a workshop, which Chris is asked to hold (for example for a samba group or a small group), the group can decide what the aim of the workshop should be, of course. Together with all workshop participants, the individual objectives will be defined then.
Workshops can take place in a familiar environment - like the usual practice room for example - or in a different environment - such as a youth hostel. The second option is more complicated to organize, but on the other hand it offers some advantages (quieter and more intense work, the formation of the groups identity etc).
Current workshop offers can be found here.
Supervising
(Group/individual)
Supervising is the accompaniment of a samba group from a distance.
It represents the easiest way for a samba group that exists far away from the nearest big city, with appropriate selection of good samba teachers. For these groups it is useful to hold occasional workshops and in the meantime keep in touch in order to monitor the progress of the group and if necessary, be able to give advises and intervene. The Supervising combines perfectly with the coaching, so that the leader of the group continues learning new material and passes it on to his/her group.
Training
(Samba Gruppe)
To make steady progress as a samba band this regular training is definately the best (ideally a weekly rehaersal of about 2 hours). This training includes two different forms of teaching: rehearsal of arrangements in the whole grou and practicing new grooves in the individual instrument groups.
The following Samba groups are "trained" by Chris on a regular basis:
Luur de Malucos
Tuesdays 18:30-20:30
Cologne-Höhenhaus
Sambasurium
1st&3rd Thursday of the month 20:00-21:30
Brühl
Pinha Colon
2nd&4th Thursday of the month 20:00-22:00
Cologne-Ehrenfeld
Samba Ponte Nova
Fridays 19:00-21:00
Cologne-Neubrück
Chris Quade Couto was born in 1981 in Cologne/Germany.
He began his career as a musician already as a child and with only 15 years, specialized in brazilian percussion. He participated in various intensive workshops in brazilian and cuban percussion with teachers like Dudu Tucci and Ravin Jayasuriya, played in a lot of percussion groups, founded and directed the samba school Unidos de Colônia, the samba group Suco Legal and played percussion in the Samba Funk band Muamba.
Nowadays he is a musical director of Bloco X, singer and percussionist of the forró trio Capangas, founder and percussionist of the Roda de Samba do Alemão and since 2004 he plays in the bateria of Unidos da Tijuca (winner of the Carnival in Rio de Janeiro in 2010, 2012 and 2014) and other samba schools in Rio.
Chris works as a musician and teacher of brazilian percussion all over the world, as a producer of cultural events and CEO of the town twinning association Köln-Rio e.V.
Chris travels each year throughout whole world to give Samba workshops, sometimes alone, sometimes together with his friend Serrinha Raíz. During the last years, he/they visited many countries, such as USA, Japan, France, Italy, Poland, Finland, Sweden, Scotland, Serbia, Portugal, etc. and in spring 2010 even held a special workshop for the percussion students in the famous Conservatory of world music in Rotterdamm/Netherlands.
Chris is endorser for instruments of the brand Contemporânea.
Shari Couto Quade was born in 1982 in Rio de Janeiro/Brazil.
She grew up in the neighborhood of two of the most traditional and most famous samba schools (Portela and Império Serrano) and visited their rehearsals very often as a child. Her uncle Paulo Henrique is a known Puxador (singer) of the samba school Mocidade Independente de Padre Miguel (in 2000 he was even the main singer of the samba "Verde Amarelo, Azul anil colorem o Brasil no ano 2000"), and her cousin Paulinho is considered one of the most talented young pasistas (solodancer) in the samba school Portela.
After finishing her degree in psychology Shari met Chris, the two decided to get married and since 2011 live together in Cologne/Germany.
Shari herself is indeed not a musician, but a specialist in the street carnival in Rio de Janeiro (blocos de rua) and also very often called a walking song book, because it is almost impossible to find a brazilian song (whether it be Samba, MPB, Forro, etc.) of which she doesn't know the whole text by heart.
Since 2011 Shari and Chris also offer travel guides through the world of samba in Rio de Janeiro.
Serrinha Raíz was born in 1975 in Rio de Janeiro/Brazil.
He grew up in a family of musicians, in the direct neighborhood of the oldest samba school in Rio de Janeiro, Estácio de Sá, where he, already as a young boy, played all kinds of percussion instruments in their rehearsals.
During his career as a musician, he has played with many great artists such as Jorge Aragão, Dona Ivone Lara, Monarco, etc. worked as a musical director of samba schools such as Unidos da Tijuca, Unidos de Padre Miguel, etc. and was part of the first selection for the showband in the Cidade do Samba, which is formed of the most prestigious Sambistas of Rios samba schools.
He now works as a percussionist for various Rodas de Samba and bands, such as Batuque Digital, Samba da Alforria and Projeto Criolice, as director of the bateria of Estácio de Sá (his home samba school) and his own carnival bloco and as a teacher for brazilian percussion in one of the biggest brazilian companies "Petrobras", as well as in social projects in the northeast of Brazil and Argentina.
Since 2009 Serrinha travels each year throughout whole world to give Samba workshops, together with his friend Chris Quade Couto. During the last years, he/they visited many countries, such as USA, Japan, France, Italy, Poland, Finland, Sweden, Scotland, Serbia, Portugal, etc. and in spring 2010 even held a special workshop for the percussion students in the famous Conservatory of world music in Rotterdamm/Netherlands.
Thalita Santos was born in 1986 in Niterói/Brazil . At the age of only 10 years she began to play percussion and in 2004 studied music theory and percussion in the famous School of Music Villa Lobos.
From 2005 to 2007 she participated in the first degree in „Carnival of Brazil“ at the University Estácio de Sá and in 2012 took part in a special course in organizing and directing Sambaschools and carnival parades.
During her career as a musician she played in several bands like Bloco do Vigário, Rio Folia Show, Zabatê (consisting only of women), Bloco da Preta, in 2008 joined the band Batuque Digital, in 2009 founded the Bloco Saias na Folia, where she became the first woman Mestra de Bateria and in 2012 founded the Bloco Patuá (which mixes traditional brazilian rhythms with modern music). She participated in several TV-, CD- and DVD-productions and taught percussion in different Schools of Rhythm like Bloco do Vigário and currently at the Sambaschool Acadêmicos do Salgueiro, where she teaches the Tamborim.
In 2010 Thalita was nominated for the diploma - Citizen Leolinda de Figueiredo Daltro for her life story in music, samba and carnival and for encouraging all women with her work with Saias na Folia.
Today she is the tamborim director of Vila Isabel and works with the Blocos Patuá, Saias na Folia and the Band Batuque Digital.
(To listen to the examples please click the related play-buttons)
Chris' Artist Webseite. Here you can find more information about his work as a musician and teacher, pressematerial, agenda with concerts and workshops and a lot of fotos.
www.chris.quadecouto.com.
Every 2nd month it's time for the Roda de Samba do Alemão in the "Yuca Club" in Cologne-Ehrenfeld. Traditional, authentic Samba like it's played in the bars of Rio de Janeiro, but right in the middle of Cologne.
www.RodaDoAlemao.koelnsamba.de
Wedding, birthday, corporate event, town festival, open air events, etc. the Koelnsamba Show Band always cheers up their audience.
Finest samba, just like it's played in Rio, will make your event unique and a success for sure. From a 3 people minishow to a 15 musicians strong Samba Batucada anything is possible.
Inquiries, please contact Chris.
Turma Maluca is the union of 6 highclass percussionists (Alfonso Garrido, Jürgen Schuld, Maxim Zettel, Thomas Sukiennik, Serrinha Raíz and Chris Quade Couto) which brings on stage a musical trip through almost all parts of Brasil.
Facebook of Turma Maluca
Traditional northeast brazilian dancemusic à la Luiz Gonzaga.
"Pé de Serra" (from the "foot of the mountain") is this traditional style of forró called, which os Capangas (Chris, Léo and Monique) celebrate with a lot of charme on Accordeon, Triangel and Zambumba.
www.capangas.com
Muamba plays the type of music, which the young scene of Rio de Janeiro likes to listen to. An innovative mixture of traditional brazilian rhythms like samba and maracatu with funk and soul. Good parties are guaranteed.
www.muamba.de
Under the name of Bloco X, sambista friends from all over europe meet to play together every year. Bloco X aims to give top-class ritmistas from like-minded groups the chance to play together in big events (Worldcup and Eurocup Finals, Sziget Festival, etc.)
www.blocox.com
Unidos da Tijuca is one of the oldest Sambaschools in Rio de Janeiro. Chris is the only foreigner playing the Tamborim in their bateria and this already since 2003. In 2010, 2012 and 2014 they even won the title and their theme for 2013 was called "Thor presents the enchanted Germany".
www.unidosdatijuca.com.br
Since 2011 Cologne and Rio de Janeiro are officially sister cities. The twinning association Köln-Rio has the purpose to promote this young partnership. In 2016 Chris became SEO of the board and is (together with Jan Krauthäuser) responsible for the cultural events within the assosiation.
www.koelnrio.de
Since 2011 Shari & Chris also offer help and support for tourists in Rio de Janeiro.
This includes:
• Help on search for cheap flights and accommodation
• Airport pickup and transfer to accommodation
• Tips, tricks and advises for safety
• Help on translation for shopping (of instruments for example)
• Visit of the classic tourist attractions (such as Sugar Loaf Mountain, Corcovado with the Christ statue, Copacabana beach and botanical garden).
• The highlight, however, builds the visit of the rehearsals of the big samba schools and traditional Rodas de Samba, which can hardly be found as a "normal" tourist.
Since 2003 Chris each year spends the months of January and February in Rio, where he visits all big samba schools. Over the years, he was made many important contacts which ensure that he always knows which Sambschule is rehearsing when and where. He knows almost every Quadra in Rio (the rehearsal hall of the samba schools) and has friends and everywhere. Shari is a real "Carioca" (residents of Rio de Janeiro) and combines perfectly with Chris, because even in the smallest districts, she always knows the right way. Both speak fluent Portuguese and German and Chris speaks also very good english.
For small groups it is also possible book a tour with Chris & Shari "out of season".
Prices on request.
Please inquire directly to Chris
