THALMA PLAYS BRASIL is a selection of all things Brazilian music, jazz, folk, vanguard, hip-hop-soul-funk grooves and at times an album audition.

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“I always say that the dance comes before the music. I can´t conduct or teach class without dancing.”

Letieres Leite, Bahian maestro, compositor, saxophonist, flutist, and teacher, left the mark of his dance in countless projects.

Defined by Gilberto Gil as a “multi-artist interested in reclaiming and propelling advances in the music of Bahia and Brazil”, Letieres has collaborated with a vast range of artists, including Gil himself, Hermeto Pascoal, Caetano Veloso, Timbalada, Paulo Moura, Maria Bethânia, Naná Vasconcelos, Daniela Mercury, Olodum, Toninho Horta, among many others.

The neologism baptizing the Orkestra Rumpilezz (a contraction of the names of the candomblé drums – rum, pi, and lé – with “jazz”) and the group´s positioning on stage (with the percussion in front of the horns, inverting the stage organization of traditional organizations and big bands) revealed the creator´s commitment to what he called the Bahian Percussive Universe.

The maestro passed away at age 61, in October 2021. Caetano wrote that “music lost one of its greatest creators today. Life lost one of its most worthy representatives.” Emicida said that Letieres was the “the perfect encounter between depth, virtuosity, and generosity in everything he dared to do.” Ed Motta added: “a unique chapter in world music.”