Cuerdas Tropicales

Featuring:

Ricardo Peixoto, brazilian guitar
Brian Rice, pandeiro and drumset
Madeleine Zayas, voice and hand percussion

Friday, June 5th, 2026
Time: 7:00 pm doors, 7:30 pm show
Admission: (Online) $25 Students & Seniors - $29 Early Bird - $35 General / (Door) $35

ABOUT THE ARTISTS:

Guitarist, composer and arranger Ricardo Peixoto is among the top representatives of Brazilian guitar in the US, with a fluid melodic style and a keen compositional sense. His music is grounded both in jazz and Brazil’s diverse traditions; but always ventures well beyond their borders. He has recorded, performed, and collaborated with, among others, Claudia Villela, Flora Purim and Airto, saxophonist Bud Shank, Dom Um Romão, Claudio Roditi, Paul McCandless Fabiana Cozza, Spok, Sivuca, Arturo Sandoval, Toots Thielemans, Dori Caymmi and Guinga. His recordings include the CDs Scary Beautiful, and Inverse Universe (with Claudia Villela). He has performed throughout the US, Europe, Canada, Japan and Brazil. Additionally Ricardo has taught Brazilian Guitar and Choro music at the California Jazz Conservatory for over 10 years. ricardopeixoto.com

Born and raised in Puerto Rico, Madeleine Zayas is a Latin American singer/interpreter, choreographer and architect based in Oakland. At age 15 she tasted professional singing with internationally acclaimed singer/songwriter Wilkins in her native Puerto Rico. She has performed in theaters and television in Puerto Rico, California and Nevada since 1985. She was co-founder of Buena Trova Social Club with Brandon Vance in 2012 and soon after as the lead singer and co-artistic director of Madelina y Los Carpinteros and Duo Made y Feña since 2014. She is the co-founder with Marcos Silva and lead singer of Sudamericanto, a bay area musical ensemble performing original compositions and innovative arrangements of carefully selected classics from the Brazilian Jazz, Latin American/Caribbean songbook. Madeleine has shared stage with Cheo Feliciano, Inti Illimani, John Santos, Tohnino Horta and Holly Near. Her love of folk music is rooted in the jibaro traditions of the Puertorican countryside, where her paternal family is from, and her eclectic repertoire is inspired by the Nueva Canción/Nueva Trova tradition of entertaining and educating about latin-american culture and pressing social issues. https://www.facebook.com/madeleine.zayasmart.3

Oakland based percussionist, Brian Rice specializes in both Brazilian and Afro Cuban percussion but can be heard playing a wide variety of music from Mexican son jarocho to the Grateful Dead songbook blended with Celtic music. Brian is a founding member of the Berkeley Choro Ensemble and is frequently called upon for his expertise on the pandeiro (Brazilian tambourine). In 2023 Brian premiered Danzas #4 for pandeiro and orchestra with the Diablo Symphony by Felipe Senna.

In addition to appearing in over a hundred recordings, Brian has worked with Mike Marshall, Jovino Santos Neto, Spok, Claudia Villela, Trio Brasileiro, Alessandro Penezzi, Jorge Alabe, Almir Côrtes, and Rogerio Souza among others. Brian performed at the Lincoln Center, Kennedy Center, the Savannah Music Festival and NPR’s Tiny Desk Concert with the Danilo Brito Quintet. In July 2019 Brian celebrated the release of his first self-produced choro CD, Três Baías with Almir Côrtes and Nando Duarte. Brian is the co-founder and artistic director of the Berkeley Festival of Choro and teaches Samba School, and the Afro-Cuban Ensembles at UC Davis. brian-rice.com

Artist Links

Websites: www.brian-rice.com; www.ricardopeixoto.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/madeleine.zayasmart.3; www.facebook.com/myloscarpinteros