Chieko

About

Chieko Donker Duyvis is an Amsterdam based cellist, vocalist and composer with Brazilian and Japanese roots, and that double heritage runs right through her music. Her original pieces draw on South American and Japanese folk traditions, and she moves easily between lively, dancing rhythms and deep, meditative soundscapes. She often works in a trio with percussionist Joost Lijbaart, who has a long background in jazz and free improvisation, and Juliano Abramovay, a São Paulo born player who specializes in Mediterranean music on the oud and also plays Brazilian guitar. The mix of cello, voice, oud, guitar and inventive percussion gets extra colour from Brazilian folk instruments like the rabeca and the double flute. The result sits somewhere between free improvisation and composed songs, with folk music from around the world turned into one long, curious conversation.