Live & Local: Concert Review and Conversation with Mandolin Virtuoso Hamilton De Holanda
One of Brazil's most celebrated musicians, the multiple Grammy winner and nominee Hamilton De Holanda, is a global ambassador for Brazilian music that bridging jazz, choro and beyond. I attended the first of his two sets at Dazzle Thursday night, January 15, 2026 and the energy in the club was rich with anticipation when Hamilton De Holanda took the stage with his trio. Salomão Soares took his place behind the keys and drummer Thiago “Big” Rabello sat up behind the kit. Hamilton, the only player standing with his mandolin, was moving and swaying with every improvisational flare he strummed, as if dancing with his mandolin. The mandolin itself felt like it was singing.
Salomão Soares was playing the bass notes on a Moog with his left hand and then a keyboard with his right hand – It added so much depth to the sound coming out of this trio. And then the drummer, Thiago “Big” Rabello, was just deep in the pocket the whole set, driving the rhythm forward. At one point, they built the applause from the audience into a clapping rhythm, which seamlessly invited the audience to be a part of the music. Lots of smiles and reactions happened on the stage and in the audience as they interacted with each other. This tight band shared that Denver was the fifth stop on their current tour which started in the city they recorded their latest release in, Live in New York City, an album they just won the Latin Grammy for Best Latin Jazz Album in 2025.
When Hamilton De Holanda stopped by KUVO Thursday morning before his shows, we talked about his mandolin, which is a custom 10-string and the essence of the choro, what he lovingly referred to as a cousin of jazz:
Hamilton De Holanda: Yes. First of all, mandolin and bandolin, it's the same instrument. Just in Portuguese is bandolim. In English, mandolin. In Italian, mandolino. In French, mandoline. Just the body is different. Of course, the tradition, the repertoire is different, but the instrument is the same. And I have my mandolin with 10 strings. I (did) not invent the 10 strings, but I invented the way to play the instrument, the technique to play, to make the chords, the melody, the rhythms all together. And that was in 2000, I had my first 10 strings mandolin. And now after 26 years, all the builders, the luthiers in Brazil, make the 10 strings mandolin.
Abi Clark: Oh, now it's a standard!
Hamilton De Holanda: Yeah, come to be a new, very good instrument.
Abi Clark: Wow, what an amazing accomplishment. And you have the way that you play on it, which you are able to dip into jazz and choro. And I wanted to take a moment to talk about the essence of the choro, because this is a heritage in Brazil. It goes back to like the 19th century in Rio. And until you and your co-founder got together and made the school of choro, there wasn't a college to teach it. Can you talk about this genre, the essence of the choro?
Hamilton De Holanda: Choro music is, for me, is like a cousin we have in our family that we consider like a brother or sister, because choro and jazz have the same African roots, the freedom roots, beautiful harmonies, beautiful melodies. The rhythm is a little bit different, but I think the way to play, to think about music is almost the same. And I try to make this connection since my beginning, my first years, because I think music can connect people and make our world better, a better place to be together. And if I can play choro music, the jazz musicians can learn about choro and I can learn about jazz and we can make something new also. So, the album I just did in New York City live, that was a winner, the Latin Grammy winner. There is inside this album that connection between jazz and choro.
Abi Clark: Okay, so that was kind of like you bringing it to the stage and bringing that connection between choro and jazz, because they're both highly improvisational. They're both very instrumental, mostly.
Hamilton De Holanda: Yeah.
Abi Clark: And you said you've been doing it your whole life. Is it like you learned them as two different things and then saw those connections?
Hamilton De Holanda: First of all, choro music, because my family, my father was a guitar player. My brother is a 7 strings guitar player and I was born in that tradition, choro music. But when I was a teenager, I discovered jazz and also classical music, also flamenco music, also other music from around the world. And I tried to put together with my own choro music.
(The portion of the interview above has been edited for length and clarity)
It was amazing to pick his brain on choro as he really is a virtuoso in what he does. At the concert, he excitingly premiered new music and told many of the stories behind the songs. One story he told us on the stage was that during the pandemic, he wrote a song every day. He wrote 366 songs, and he shared it was his way to stay calm. He then played one of the songs he wrote during this time called Todo Dia É Um Recomeço, which means “Every day is a New Beginning.” This song, among many others he played, can be found on Hamilton de Holanda Trio - Live in NYC.
Interestingly enough, in our conversation at KUVO, he shared that he also met this very trio during the pandemic. He said he long admired Salomão Soares and Thiago “Big” Rabello and the discovery of an app that allows you to jam without delay sparked connection in a time of solitude, and the band has been playing together ever since. For more stories like this, please check out our full conversation!
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