Brazilian Badi Assad brings Wonder, flavor to Duke

As the temperature drops, and the Gothic Wonderland starts looking more like a "Winter Wonderland," your ears will surely be searching for relief from the droves of overplayed Christmas carols polluting the airways in the coming weeks. Fortunately, Badi Assad makes a stop at Duke this Friday night-part of her Wonderland tour. Her warm-blooded performance is sure to be a welcome diversion from all the holiday hoopla-and give a refreshing look into the soul of a musical chameleon.

Born in Sao Paolo and critically acclaimed as both a singer and guitarist in native Brazil-and around the world-Assad draws inspiration from diverse influences ranging from Brazilian Tropicalia to her Middle Eastern roots. As one of Brazil's most accomplished guitar players, she takes eclecticism to new levels, citing influences including Icelandic siren Bjork, Sufi mystic Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and-not so surprisingly-Brazilian legend and father of Tropicalia, Caetano Veloso.

Assad's musical education began when she took up piano at the age of eight. It was ultimately her family's deep musical roots that nudged her toward the guitar, as she learned the instrument at the age of fourteen to accompany her father, Jorge Assad, on his mandolin. Her older brothers, Sergio and Odair, presently of the internationally renowned guitar act Duo Assad, were also influential to her musicianship.

"They would play all kinds of interesting things for me when I was growing up," she says of her family on her MySpace page. Classically trained, she studied guitar at the University Conservatory of Rio de Janeiro and placed first in the country's Young Instrumentalist Contest, Concurso Jovens Instrumentistas, in 1984. Successfully transitioning from student to professional musician, she became a member of the Guitar Orchestra of Rio de Janiero two years later. In 1995, Assad was voted Best Acoustic Fingerstyle Guitarist by editors of Guitar Player and her album Rhythms was named Best Classical Album of the Year by the magazine.

The songstress has carved for herself a unique musical niche that sets her apart from her family, namely her famous brothers. One of her signature features is her voice, which she credits to extensive voice lessons and her mother Angelina-her biggest inspiration. Her ringing, sensuous vocal style has at times been compared to Astrud Gilberto, another centerpiece of the Tropicalia movement. On stage, she uses mouth and body percussion techniques to compliment her virtuoso guitar playing as she sings in both English and Portuguese.

Assad is traveling solo on this tour, as she promotes her latest effort, Wonderland. The album-whose name is inspired by Lewis Caroll's Alice in Wonderland-has received widespread praise. Critic Jeff Tamarkin acclaimed it as "A hopeful, sunny, simply wonderful record."

Recorded in Rio de Janeiro, rather than the home of Alice and the Mad Hatter, Wonderland features covers of "Sweet Dreams" by the Eurythmics and "Black Dove" by Tori Amos, and even duets with Seu Jorge and Taylor McFerrin. Staying true to her Brazilian roots, "Wonderland" is produced by Jacques Morelenbaum, who is famous for his work with Tom Jobim, Caetano Veloso and many other Tropicalia heavyweights.

Badi's own compositions shine in the form of Bossa Nova and flamenco rhythms both on the album and on stage. The Denver Post praises her versatility: "Badi Assad is a veritable one-woman band, accompanying her virtuoso guitar playing with lilting vocals and a thrilling arsenal of body percussion effects." Assad's masterful guitar work and heartfelt vocals transcend many different genres and are sure to transport Reynolds Theater from dreary Durham to a nightclub on the perpetually luminous shores of Rio de Janeiro.