João Mota

Drums

Joao Mota is a drummer, percussionist and educator from Sao Paulo - Brazil. At the age of 12, he started playing drums in church and gradually developed an interest in becoming a professional musician. In 2010 he moved to New York City to pursue his Master’s degree at the Aaron Copland School of Music, Queens College. Since then he had the opportunity to play with great artists such as Claudio Roditi, John Lee, Albert Rivera, Antonio Hart, David Berkman, among others. Besides performing, Joao has a passion for teaching and introducing music to the younger generation.

Why do you do big beat big band gigs?

I do it because I love the music, vision and energy! Some people say that musical improvisation is boring and BBBB proves this statement wrong.

Why do you do what you do? 

Because it is a way of expressing thoughts, sharing a bit of who I am in a peaceful and respectful way. It is also a great tool to learn from and about other people. That is why I love music!