Born in Sao Paulo, Brazil, in 1985, Dani Gurgel has been professionally working on music and photography since her early teens. She was born in a musical family, with a saxophonist father and a pianist mother.

Dani had lived most of her life on instrumental music, until her debut as a singer and composer. She was a saxophone player at Tom Jobim University's big band, conducted by Roberto Sion, and at Zimbo Trio's support bigband, even a bass player at Quincas, a composers' group with Te Brandileone and Vinicius Calderoni.

That's when she started composing her own music, during college. Even though she started to sing later, listening to Flora Purim and Chick Corea on Return to Forever, she has Elis Regina's strenght and Luciana Souza's instrumental voice as standards. Since the beginning of her musical career, Dani Gurgel has been developing her compositional work and aggregating her generation.

During two concert seasons in Sao Paulo, in 2007, the series Dani Gurgel e Novos Compositores (Dani Gurgel and New Composers) not only introduced Dani Gurgel as a singer and composer, but made place for the union of young musicians with a common objective. During the series, Dani recorded an e.p. with four songs: one of her own, and three that were in the series.

The album, known as the compact, wasn't just a rehearsal for the production of a future long-play, but a solid work, in times of digital distribution, that opened many doors. It is available for digital sales by Tratore. Dani's compositional project Da Pe Virada, of songs composed with Debora Gurgel, won Premio Nascente (Universidade de Sao Paulo) in 2007, what resulted in a series of concerts around the state, on the university's campi, and an album, "Nosso", recorded using the financial help given to the winner of the prize. The album has, along with Dani's music, compositions by young Brazilian musicians. Nascente Prize, organized by USP, has had winners as Andre Mehmari, Chico Pinheiro, Iara Renne, Fabio Torres and Nhambuzim, when they were students of the university.

Dani won the prize for popular music, and the special Tutoring proze, given to only one participant among all areas (music, theater, litterature, audiovisual, visual arts, design).

Produced by Thiago Rabello and Dani Gurgel, Nosso ('Ours') brings many songs that were discovered and grown during the projects 'Dani Gurgel e Novos Compositores' and 'Da Pe Virada'. Dani Gurgel's first 'long play', second album, Nosso has 15 different composers on 11 songs, all of them searching for a spot in the music business.

On her latest concerts, Dani Gurgel has been presenting it, along with some of her new compositions, including the lyrics for Maria Schneider's The Pretty Road, in portuguese Estrada Bela.

In 2008, Dani acted as a curator and lead singer with Tom Jobim Orchestra, conducted by Roberto Sion, in a concert that presented the music of Brazil's new generation of songwriters. It included songs by Vinicius Calderoni, Ca Rolfsen, Rafa Barreto, Te Brandileone, Leo Bianchini, Conrado Goys, Ricardo Barros, Dani Black, Breno Ruiz, Ze Edu Camargo, Michi Ruzitschka, Giana Viscardi and Dani Gurgel;arrangements by Debora Gurgel and Roberto Sion, conductor, and instrumentalists Thiago Rabello, Daniel Amorin, Debora Gurgel, Michi Ruzitschka and Andre Kurchal. This concert was created by Dani and Roberto Sion, inspired in 'Dani Gurgel e Novos Compositores'.

"Agora"

On her third CD, she got together a team of young composers and musicians to record Agora (Now), the first album by a Brazilian singer to be launched by the American recording label ArtistShare where fans participate and accompany the record's creation and production and help make it possible through anticipated record buying and sponsorship.

In each song, Dani receives one or more guests: the song's composer(s) who is(are) part of the recording. The new faces tonic the record's different sonorities as well. Unity is made possible by Thiago Rabello's production and Dani's beautiful interpretation, combined with each guest's unique personality. As natural as child play, the songs go from jazz to pop. There are sambas (popular Brazilian rhythm), such as Vinicious Calderoni's 'Linha na Pipa' (Kite on the line), grooves, like Danilo Moraes and Ricardo Tet's 'Clinch' (Onomatopoeia), themes on the edge of erudite music and jazz, like the song 'Depois' (After), Dani's partnership with Tatiana Parra, and a mixture of Brazilian influences, as displayed in Rafa Barreto's overwhelming 'Bate Pilao' (Pilao is an instrument used in Brazilian and African cooking. Bate is the movement made in order to crush grains).

Official Web Site: www.boranda.com.br/danigurgel

EP 'Dani Gurgel' (2007)

Nosso (2008)

Agora (2009)