Photo credit: ©Philippe Quevauviller

Matteo Carola is a musician trained in jazz guitar at the Royal Conservatory of Brussels. In parallel to the study and practice of jazz, he became interested in Brazilian music at an early age.

Initially enchanted by the guitar playing and the magical voice of João Gilberto, he then discovered, thanks to his jazz guitar teacher of Brazilian origin, the sambas of Cartola and Nelson Cavaquinho, whose rhythms and sounds (in particular the 7-string guitar playing) attracted him immediately.

Shortly after graduating from the conservatory, in 2012, Matteo Carola had the pleasure of discovering choro. Fascinated by this new style, he made several study trips to Brazil (2013, 2016 and 2019), where he learned the cavaquinho (a small 4-string guitar typical of choro and samba) and discovered all the scope, sophistication and beauty of Brazilian guitar playing.

This strong passion for Brazilian music did not make him abandon jazz: in 2013 he formed the sextet God Save The Swing! with saxophonist Kenny Jeanney. The group recorded two albums, the second of which featured singer Célia Kameni.

For some years now, he has also been exploring Neapolitan songs (his grandfather's homeland) with his uncle, singer Lorenzo Carola.

In 2016, on his return from his second study trip to Brazil, Matteo Carola met singer Stéphanie Scultore, who is also passionate about Brazilian music. Together they created the 4tet Rosa, with Mathieu Robert on saxophone and Falk Schrauwen on percussion. Their first album "Chorando Sim" was released in 2019 under the Bossa Flor Music label and mixes compositions of the group with covers of sambas. A second album is currently in preparation (to be released in 2022), this time consisting mainly of original compositions.

The members of 4tet Rosa took advantage of the 2020-2021 period of confinement to compose and create the musical show for young audiences "GATO". This is an adaptation of Jorge Amado's story 'The Cat and the Swallow', with the music composed entirely by the 4tet and inspired by the author's home region, the Northeast of Brazil. The play will be performed in Belgium in the 2021-2022 season, and an album of the show is due to be recorded soon. 

His link with the dynamic Bossa Flor is on the one hand via the musical programming (and label) of the association, and the album project "Brassens dans tous ses états" in which he recorded two titles in duet with Stéphanie Scultore, and the participation of Philippe Quevauviller and Osman Martins. 

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