Simon Papa

Italo-brazilian vocalist, percussionist & guitarist. Simon Papa studied at Centro Jazz in Torino with the vocalist Francesca Oliveri and the pianist Gianni Negro. She also studied guitar in addition to African and jazz dance. She began her career in 1984 with the guitarist Pino Russo in the showcase Saudade do Brasil which was performed in various Italian jazz clubs. At this point, her professional career intensified and she extended her touring on into Northern Europe and performing various musical genres from Brazilian and jazz, to pop and dance. From 1984 through to 1986, Simon worked as an African-jazz dancer participating in various showcases throughout Italy. Between 1990 and 1993 she took part in numerous recording projects in the area of dance music. In 1993 she started to collaborate with Roberto Taufic, a brazilian guitarist. Together they started to perform in Italy and Brazil, in addition to writing songs and releasing a number of albums beginning in 1997 and continues today. Beginning in 1999 she has dedicated herself to learning to play percussion in the popular traditional Brazilian way. Throughout this time, her projects have involved the collaboration with different musicians, both Brazilian and Italian. Among them are Roberto "Red" Rossi, Gilson Silveira, Pino Russo, Enzo Zirilli, Diego Borotti, Davide Graziano, Alberto Tafuri, Augusto Martelli, Karl Potter, Michele Rabbia, Gilson Silveira, Paulo De Oliveira and Nicola Muresu.