Badi Assad

Brazilian singer-songwriter and guitarist Badi Assad is from a musical family and her own success is mirrored by her two brothers who perform under the name Duo Assad. She was born in São Paulo but raised in Rio de Janeiro where she studied classical guitar at the city's university. Although she is a talented singer-songwriter it is her skill as a guitarist which really defines her as an artist.

During her early career Assad received numerous accolades for her outstanding ability on the guitar and nowadays she is regarded as one of the finest guitarists performing on the international circuit. In her professional career she has performed with a wide variety of artists and is as comfortable playing to festival crowds alongside artists such as Joe Cocker and Cassandra Wilson as she is performing to classical audiences. As well as performing her own material Assad is known for her intelligent and unusual interpretations of the work of other artists. She released two albums on the Deutsche Grammophon label which contain some intriguing cover versions including 'Bachelorette' by Bjork which is reworked into a tango and 'One' by U2 which receives a bossa-nova treatment.