Azymuth in Basel

Azymuth are a Brazilian jazz-funk trio formed in Rio de Janeiro in 1973 by keyboardist José Roberto Bertrami, bassist Alex Malheiros and drummer Ivan Conti. They play instrumental jazz-funk shaped by samba rhythms, electric keyboards and prominent bass lines. Their best-known recording is “Jazz Carnival” from the album Light as a Feather; other key releases include Azimüth and Outubro. Since the late 1970s, Azymuth have toured internationally and brought their repertoire to jazz clubs as well as larger concert stages. In London, the trio have performed at Ronnie Scott’s and the Jazz Cafe. The concert format is built around keyboards, electric bass and drums, the same instrumental framework established by Bertrami, Malheiros and Conti. Improvisation extends the recorded arrangements while preserving the samba and funk rhythms at the centre of pieces such as “Jazz Carnival.” The group has also performed at the Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland and the North Sea Jazz Festival in the Netherlands.