Italian born, with a natural talent that turned heads as she won local, then regional, then national song contests, Mafalda’s trajectory from Rome to Rio de Janeiro to New York could easily be told in film or a book. Suffice to say, her life’s story is in every song she sings. It was a brief engagement in 1996 that brought her from Rome to Rio but the Brazilian people had other ideas as her explosive success led to a storied ongoing career marked by numerous TV shows, soundtracks, albums, awards and collaborations with so many artists including Milton Nascimento, Leny Andrade, Roberto Menescal, Guinga and André Mehmari among others. Mafalda’s presence on the top Jazz radio stations of America (WBGO,KUVO,WUCF,KNTU,WJAZ etc, etc,) have served to promote her ever growing name in clubs and festivals in the USA with 3 albums produced for that market that feature John Patitucci, Joe Locke, Dave Leibman, Will Calhoun, Don Byron, Helio Alves, Rogerio Boccato, Graham Haynes, Michael Wolff and others.
“…uses her exquisitely perfumed voice to give wing to the music of the great Brazilian songbook. She adds songs in English, French, and in native Italian as well. It is, again, no surprise that she excels in all of the languages..
I cannot think of anyone else other than Elis Regina, who could have pulled off such a magnificent, alluring interpretation of Águas De Março.
In short she can sing anything Brazilian, and make them as authentic as any of the finest Brazilian vocalists around”.
“…brings to her vocals a kind of lived experience, which enables her to inhabit the characters she plays .. consequently her narratives are so authentic that she becomes the characters that she ‘plays’ in every song”. (Raul Da Gama – Latin Jazz Network)

Paul Ricci
Conservatory trained but raised in the clubs and studios of NYC, Ricci delved into all that city has to offer as he expanded his jazz background into Latin (with 5x Grammy nominee Bobby Sanabria among others), African and Caribbean music (with Harry Belafonte among others) and most notably Brazilian music (Astrud Gilberto, Bebel Gilberto, Dom Um Romao, Edison Machado and others). After extensive tours in Europe and Asia, he began traveling to and working in Brazil where he met Mafalda Minnozzi and embarked on a musical partnership that has produced countless shows on 4 continents, film soundtracks, over 25 CD’s and most remarkably, a unique style that draws from all of these experiences.
“A brilliant guitarist who also brings a very special grace to the production of this music. …His ability to bring just the right kind of musical embellishment … which is to say that color and texture are supreme and combine in subtle almost imperceptible ways … accentuate the emotional power of the music. (Raul Da Gama – Latin Jazz Network)