Emerging jazz talent Edú Ribeiro was born Edúardo José Nunes Ribeiro on January 13, 1975, in Florianopolis, Brazil. The self-taught drummer began playing at the age of eight, performing with his family's group, Stagium 10, by the age of 11. Throughout his teens Edú was active in the local jazz scene, and began studying with jazz students at Unicamp (one of Sao Paulo's public universities), establishing a reputation as a young instrumentalist to be watched. Moving to São Paulo in 1996 offered Ribeiro opportunities to work with Brazilian jazz luminaries like Ernan Lopez-Nussa, Yamandu Costa, Toninho Ferragutti, and more. As a sideman, Ribeiro performed for audiences at the Montreux Jazz Festival, the Blue Note Yokohama, and the Parliament Jazz Festival, among others. Edú's debut disc, Horizonte, was released in 2003, followed in 2005 by Corrente. His third outing as a bandleader came about in 2006 with the release of Ja To Te Esperando, Ribeiro's first project to gain significant recognition. Featuring compositions and appearances by artists such as Chico Pinheiro, Paulo Paulelli, Thiago of Espirito Santo, and more, Ja To Te Esperando announced Ribeiro's arrival as an important Brazilian voice on the international jazz scene. In addition to performing regularly, Ribeiro teaches as a member of the jazz and percussion faculty at Santa Marcelina College and Unicamp, the place where he was originally forged as a musician. ~ Evan C. Gutierrez