About Thiago Trad - percussionist, drummer, composer, producer and music educator

Thiago Trad é percussionista, multi-instrumentista e compositor brasileiro. Seu trabalho é profundamente enraizado na tradição rítmica afro-brasileira, em diálogo com o jazz contemporâneo e a música experimental.

Atuando como baterista e percussionista, Trad estudou e tocou com grandes mestres da música mundial, como o maestro Letieres Leite, Celine Rudolph, Graham Haynes, Walter Thompson, Gabi Guedes, Santiago Vázquez, Liliam Carmona, Kiko Freitas, Marcos Suzano, Roberto Mendes, Neil Leonard, Rogério Boccato e Paul Winter.

Thiago já se apresentou em palcos e festivais importantes, como Lollapalooza (Brasil), Badehaus (Berlim), Nublu (NY), Teatro Opera America (NY) e Casa Natura (SP), além de possuir ampla experiência tocando no Carnaval de Salvador (Brasil), considerado o maior festival de música popular do mundo.

Como músico de estúdio e produtor, realizou trabalhos em diversos estúdios, incluindo Pinching Records (NY), Casa das Máquinas (Salvador), WR Studios (Salvador) e Estúdio Trama (SP). Participou também do álbum indicado ao Grammy, Afrocanto das Nações Jêje, do premiado compositor Mateus Aleluia, entre outras colaborações.

music & percussion

art e criativity

Trad is a creator and a restless explorer of sound, constantly seeking authentic musical connections and collaborative experiences. Whether through his solo album Moscote, the Trad Organic Trio, or partnerships with artists such as Celine Rudolph, Neil Leonard, Malin Schell, and Mateus Aleluia, his work as a composer, producer, and studio musician has been gaining international recognition.

Bahia Calling — recorded at Casa das Máquinas (Salvador, Brazil) in collaboration with American saxophonist Neil Leonard — highlights Thiago’s improvisational voice. His contribution to the collective project Enter Horizons, produced by Scott Lidner and Adam Ajuha and recorded at Pinching Records (NY), further showcases his multi-instrumentalist approach, performing a range of percussion instruments and flute on the track A Rare Demonstration of Love, available on all digital platforms.

His versatility stands out both in studio recordings and live performances. Guided by deeply intuitive musicality, he moves fluidly across a wide spectrum of instruments — from synthesizers and effects pedals to pandeiro, cuíca, berimbau, whistles, atabaques, caxixis, drum machines, and flutes. In his hands, almost anything becomes percussion.

Explore his journey, watch selected videos, discover his projects, and feel free to get in touch if you’d like to learn more about his work.

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"braziliam grooves, jazz, rock, experimental music, the instinctive drumming of Thiago Trad"

Check out the vibe of Thiago Trad's music!

Explore the multiple talents of Thiago Trad

Thiago Trad & Moscote Ensemble - feat. Letieres Leite (São Paulo)

Thiago Trad & Mou Brasil

Bahia Experimental

Thiago Trad & Vanessa Mello

"With over 20 years of career dedicated to creative music, across different genres."

Get to know Thiago Trad's music and his various projects

Moscote is the name of the first solo album by Brazilian percussionist, composer and multi-instrumentalist Thiago Trad. His creative inspiration moves between cinema, music and literature, be it in the work of Egberto Gismonti, Naná Vasconcelos, Sivuca, Edu Lobo, Airto Moreira or in the films of Glauber Rocha, Hitchcock and Tim Burton.

Thiago Trad - Moscote (fisrt album)

Leonard & Trad Duo (album)

Recorded in Salvador, Bahia – wr session features exceptional musicians who had never played together before, creating a wholly organic and unprecedented musical experience. Drawing inspiration from legendary Brazilian jazz icons such as Azymuth, Hermeto Pascoal, and Chick Corea (Return To Forever). The album’s warm, textured sound, captured on an analog recording system, invites listeners into an intimate and immersive auditory journey..

Trad Organic Trio (new album)

Bahia Calling the beginning of a partnership that brings together experimental avant-garde jazz and Brazilian percussive music, composed in the studio from improvisations inspired by the work of artists such as Walter Smetak, John Coltrane, Pixinguinha, Airto Moreira, Miles Davis, among other references. Leonard & Trad, are two improvisers with distinct musical backgrounds, from different generations and nationalities, giving their work a unique identity. The sound result of this encounter can only be heard for the first time by those who have come this far; the album will still be officially released in the first half of 2025.

Gallery

Explore unique moments from Thiago Trad's musical journey

★★★★★

"Thank you for enjoying my art, let's keep in touch"!

Naná Vasconcelos, Hermeto Pascoal, Egberto Gismonti, Azymuth, Mark Guiliana, Kamasi Washington, Letieres Leite & Orkestra Rumpilezz, Sun Ra Orkestra, Shabaka Hutchings, The Comet Is Coming, Yussef Kamal, Brandee Younger, Amaro Freitas, João Donato, Makaya McCraven, Takuya Kuroda, Maria Schneider Orchestra, Aguidavi do Jêje, Pradarrum, Cyro Baptista, among others.

Discover the artists that make Thiago Trad's musical head