Equator Productions

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"I was born in the States ten hours after my parents arrived here from Brazil. I was raised here for the most part, but my Dad worked for the airlines so we spent many summer vacations in my Mom's hometown of Rio de Janeiro and in Belém, a port town at the mouth of the Amazon, where my Dad was from in northern Brazil. As an adult I have been back countless times. With one foot planted so firmly in each place, EQUATOR is the perfect name to describe the eclectic scope of my artistic interests and the wide range of services my company provides." Manny Moreira was born in Miami only hours after his parents emigrated from Brazil. Raised on Long Island throughout his school years. He took his first music lesson at seven years of age with renowned Brazilian maestro Sebastiao Tapajoz who taught him how to play "House of The Rising Sun" with impeccable classical guitar technique. It was the perfect start for an eclectic career that has taken him on a far-reaching musical journey both stylistically and geographically. He began playing in local rock and blues bands at nine years old and by the age of fourteen he was doing gigs. Rock gigs continued until he heard a Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie Parker album. At seventeen he began studying jazz improvisation. Shortly thereafter he was a sought after guitarist and singer on the local scene. He played in fusion bands, salsa bands, rhythm & blues bands, big bands and jazz combos. He also began honing his writing skills by doing arrangements and transcriptions for other singers and songwriters. At nineteen he furthered his studies of harmony, melody and improvisation, form and analysis, counter point, sight singing and ear training, orchestration, arranging, composition and electronic music. Around this time he was being hired by recording studios as a session guitarist and arranger as well as contracting players for sessions because of his deep knowledge of various styles of music and his ability to find the best musicians available to play on specific tracks. By now he was a bandleader performing his own music in clubs, colleges and festivals. He moved to New York City and continued his studies of jazz with guitar virtuoso Pat Martino. While continuing a journeyman career playing club dates and sessions in NYC he always included Brazilian music as his specialty. He studied guitar with Tiberio Nascimento playing the music of Jobim, Baden Powell, Villa-Lobos and all the masters of Brazilian popular music. In 1990 he broadened his skills by studying orchestral conducting at the Julliard School of Music. Mozart, Beethoven, Brahms and Tchaikovsky are just a few of the composers whose scores helped enhance Mr. Moreira's knowledge of orchestration and composition. It was at this time he was invited to join a writing team, which included Luis Bonfa, for an ill-fated Broadway musical about Carmen Miranda. Though the book never materialized, the musical experience was extremely fruitful. It was around this time that Manny's career as a composer, arranger and music producer began to gain momentum. His vocal studies include three years with Jim Carson and in 1993 he was chosen by legendary director Joe Layton to perform with Ann-Margret in her theatrical review. This began his career in the Broadway theatre. In 1996 he became a member of Actors Equity Association upon being selected as guitarist and singer for the first National Tour of "Smokey Joe's Café." While living in London, in 1998 he studied acting at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts. In the mid '90s Mr. Moreira began an association with John Simon. Working alongside the legendary producer he further honed his skills as an arranger, conductor and music producer. Some of the artists and musicians with whom he has performed and/or recorded include; Gerry Mulligan, Bucky Pizzarelli, Ron Carter, Phil Woods, Eliie Gomez, Gil Goldstein, Grady Tate, Michel Petruciani, Gilberto Gil, Will Lee, Eartha Kitt, The Temptations, Helen Reddy, Jane Duboc and Johnny Ventura. In 1998 he formed Equator Productions as an umbrella company to cover all of the musical services he provides. Meanwhile, he continued to record and perform throughout North America, the Caribbean, Europe and Asia. Always widening his range of knowledge, he is often called upon to provide ethnic music such as Latin, Caribbean, African and even Asian, in addition to all forms of American music. In 2003 he moved his studio and office to Union Square and since then has: been selected by the United States Department of State and the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts for a one month tour of Africa as a Jazz Ambassador where he played diplomatic posts, national theatres and was invited to participate in lectures and music clinics at universities; scored a film selected for the Pan-African Film Festival in Los Angeles; written arrangements and music directed two new musicals, one which ran at LaMama and another at the Manhattan New Musical Theatre Festival; produced and directed a promotional video for the Neward Public Library; music directed two regional musicals, one for the Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival and the other at the New Harmony Theatre; arranged and conducted many corporate shows such as MasterCard, Samsung, Nextel, the Republican National Convention, MCI, Pfizer, etc; his original composition "Christmas in New York" aired nationally on CBS television Christmas Eve 2003.

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