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Amber Epp and Emmanuel Bach bring the sound of Brazil to Little Brown Jug.
As the TD Winnipeg International Jazz Festival swings into full gear, one of the week’s most colourful concerts will spotlight the music of Brazil—blended with the spirit of jazz. On Wednesday, June 18 at 8:30 p.m., vocalist Amber Epp and Brazilian guitarist Emmanuel Bach take the stage at the Little Brown Jug taproom for a rhythmic, genre-blending evening.
From Curitiba to Winnipeg
Bach, who originally hails from Curitiba, Brazil, has followed a winding musical path that led him to Winnipeg. “I lived in Boston for two and a half years and started a degree at Berklee College of Music but didn’t finish,” he says. “So I went back to Brazil, worked a lot as a musician, and then thought, I want to go back to school.”
After researching options, Bach decided Canada—specifically Manitoba—offered the right mix of opportunity and affordability. He recently completed his master’s degree at the University of Manitoba.
Brazilian music, he says, is part of his DNA. “My dad always enjoyed listening to Toquinho and João Gilberto. He had a lot of Bossa Nova and other records at home. I would listen with him,” recalls Bach. “Then I started playing in rock bands, and as I got more serious, I got involved in the jazz scene in Curitiba.”
Most of what he learned, he says, came from being on the bandstand. “Playing with people, they’d give me feedback—‘this doesn’t really work, you should listen to this’—and the more I played, the more I learned.”
An accidental musical match
Epp and Bach met by chance. “I’d hired another guitarist for a gig, and he had a conflict. He said, ‘I know this guitarist Emmanuel—you both play Latin music, I think you’re gonna enjoy playing together,’” says Epp. “We met for the first time on the gig. We had never played together or even met.”
After a few successful collaborations, the duo decided to turn their chemistry into a full-fledged project. “We both like playing together,” says Epp. “Let’s put a project together. So we did.”
Tackling Portuguese—and musical cousins
A seasoned performer known for her work with Trio Bembe and time spent living in Cuba, Epp is no stranger to Latin rhythms. But singing in Portuguese comes with its own challenges. “For me it is [harder than Spanish], just ’cause I have more experience singing in Spanish,” she says. “Portuguese is a little more like English—‘Oh, if you put these letters it’s like this, except for these words…’ but you know, the music makes it worth it.”
She adds, “Cuban music and Brazilian music—they’re kind of like musical cousins. There’s a lot of overlap and it pairs really well with jazz… and jazz musicians like playing with different things and improvising. It seems to fit well.”
Beyond bossa: exploring Brazil’s vast musical styles
While many associate Brazilian music with samba and bossa nova, Bach is quick to point out there’s a whole world beyond those familiar sounds. “There’s more than 300 Brazilian [styles]… there’s a lot of regional music,” he explains. “Baião and xaxado are Northeastern Brazilian music, and choro is more like… it’s a mix of styles. Choro means ‘crying.’ It’s kind of the way they play the instrument and make the instrument cry. That’s a little bit of the Portuguese heritage.”
The duo’s upcoming set will include music by Djavan—“like the Brazilian Stevie Wonder,” says Bach—as well as João Donato, Antonio Carlos Jobim, jazz standards, and even a bossa-style take on The Carpenters’ classic “(They Long to Be) Close to You.”
Epp adds, “We’re going to play ‘The Girl from Ipanema,’ but we’re going to play it in 7/4—put a little something on it.”
Crafting a sound as a duo
With just voice and guitar, the pair are thoughtful about how to shape their sound. “We gave ourselves the confines of a duo,” says Epp. “How are you going to make it work in that, you know, with just two instruments?”
The process is collaborative. “We start with common things that we both know and like and then maybe we put our own twist on those things,” says Bach. “I’ve been bugging [Amber] with a lot of playlists—‘Oh, you should listen to this, you should listen to that.’”
“I kept track of it all and I’ll pick like a few favourites,” Epp laughs. “OK, let me learn these ones first.”
Looking ahead to the show
With their debut show as a duo on the horizon, both artists are excited.
“For me,” says Epp, “this is a new project for us and this is our first show. So I think like in a year we’ll look back and be like, wow, we started a year ago… and hopefully we’ll get to play a lot.”
Bach adds, “I’m curious how the audience is going to receive all our creativity, because we put a lot of creativity into that. So yeah, I’m looking forward to share this with everyone.”
Whether you're a jazz aficionado, a lover of Latin rhythms, or just looking for something fresh and unforgettable, this is the show to catch. With Amber Epp’s luminous vocals, Emmanuel Bach’s masterful guitar work, and a setlist that spans soulful ballads, sizzling sambas, and playful reimaginings of classic tunes, this performance promises to be something truly special. It’s a night where Brazil meets tradition meets improvisation—and you definitely don’t want to miss it
You can catch Amber Epp and Emmanuel Bach live at 8:30 p.m. on Wednesday, June 18 at the Little Brown Jug taproom as part of the TD Winnipeg International Jazz Festival. For more information, visit jazzwinnipeg.com.