Igor Willcox was born in São Paulo on January 6, 1981. He descends of various generations of musicians as having greater influence his father, Paulo César Willcox (conductor and arranger) and his mother, Sonia Rocha (singer). Igor started playing drums in 1995 at age 14, having as his teachers the drummers Alexandre Faccas and Jojo Mayer.

 

Considered one of the most important drummers in Brazil, Igor has played and recorded with important artists of the Brazilian and international scene as; The legendary singer Jimmie Bo Horn (KC & Sunshine Band), Guilherme Arantes, Familia Lima, Sandy & Junior, Fernanda Porto, Frejat, Gary Brown, Kenny Brown, Cecilia Stalin, Camille Bertault, Placa Luminosa, among other artists.

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In instrumental music, Igor has played and recorded with great names of Jazz and Brazilian music such as Bocato, Tomati, Tony Lakatos, Frank Colon (Weather Report), Michel Leme, Marcinho Eiras, Ary Roland, Thiago do Espirito Santo, Michel Friendenson, Sandro Haick, David Richards, Zerró Santos, Walmir Gil, Marcelo Coelho, Erik Escobar, Decebal Badila, Daniel Santiago, Lanny Gordin, Rubem Farias, Glecio Nascimento, Fernando Rosa, Jj, Bruno Alves, etc.

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He performed international tours with artists, doing workshops and concerts with his group Igor Willcox Quartet, in countries like Canada, Germany, Serbia, Bulgaria, Slovenia, Argentina, Bolivia, Uruguay, etc.

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Igor released three original albums that had excellent reviews on the most important and popular jazz websites of the world as All About Jazz, World Music Report, Clube de Jazz, Jazz World Quest, etc.

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“ Fans of fusion and jazz-funk, in particular, will appreciate Willcox's hard-driving, relentless style, and with some tasteful contributions from his colleagues, it's an auspicious outing from this versatile drummer and songwriter."

"There's more than enough evidence here to suggest that Willcox can claim a place at the table among current drummers continuing to draw effective inspiration from the abundant resources of jazz fusion.”

(Troy Dostert - All About Jazz).

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“The first Live album of the Brazilian drummer Igor Willcox quartet, captures the spirit of a strongly welded band performing at a high voltage in the most impassioned and interactive way. It features seven originals along with three compositions belonging to jazz fusion legends such as Allan Holdsworth, Wayne Shorter, and Lenny White.
Ten tracks of unexpected, creative interactions resulted from the combined strength of four virtuosi musicians, each of them contributing with their inventive skills to a perfect fusion of musicality and rhythms. Fans of jazz fusion will enjoy a high-quality album delivered by a phenomenal band fueled by the natural energy of like minds playing as a singular voice”. ( Jazz World Quest).

The album also received an excellent review from All About Jazz, one of the most important jazz sites of the world.

Complete review:  https://www.allaboutjazz.com/live-igor-willcox-self-produced-review-by-mike-jurkovic.php

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His album with the trio "New Samba Jazz", released in 2006 by the Swiss label Altrisuoni Records, had excellent reviews in Europe, Asia, the USA, and Brazil, becoming Best Seller of the label for 4 years.

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Important Festivals / Awards: 

• Batuka Festival III (drum festival organized by the Vera Figueiredo’s Institute). Igor won the contest in the category of musicality, in 1998. 

• Batuka Festival IV, alongside big names Dave Weckl and Virgil Donati. 

• Igor was nominated as a drummer revelation in 2000, by Batera & Percussão Magazine 

• Presented on the 1st edition of Batukinha, where it also played the artists Vera Figueiredo, Sam Aliano, Marco Minnemann, Jim Chapin and Dom Famularo. 

• 2nd Modern Drummer Festival (Brazil). 

• Performed workshops in Germany at the University of Music in Frankfurt, Hamburg School of Music, among others. 

• IV Modern Drummer Festival IP & T. 

• Columnist for the Batera & Percussão Magazine, for 1 year. 

• Rio das Ostras Jazz Festival (Bocato 5tet).

• Santos Jazz Festival 2017 (Igor Willcox Quartet)

• Play Jazz Festival 2017 (Igor Willcox Quartet)

• SP Jazz Festival 2018 (Igor Willcox Quartet) 

• Jardins Suspensos Jazz Festival (Igor Willcox Quartet) 2018

• Maresias Jazz Festical (Mauro Hector Trio) 2018

• Nagano Drum Fest 2018

• North City Jazz Festival 2019 (Igor Willcox Quartet)

• MB Jazz 2019 - Souza Lima Berklee Festival

• MB Jazz 2020 - Souza Lima Berklee Festival

• Festival de Inverno de Domingos Martins 2019 (concerts and Drums Masterclasses).

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Currently, Igor Willcox is dedicated to his instrumental music project Igor Willcox Quartet.

 

Formed by Igor Willcox (drums/compositions),

Vini Morales (electric piano/synth), Wagner Barbosa (saxophone), and Glecio Nascimento

bass) featuring elements of jazz, funk, and fusion.

The group – which plays original compositions, exploring all musicality,

spontaneity, and synergy - has achieved great notoriety in the instrumental music scene, standing out and performing in the most important festivals and Jazz clubs around the world such as Blue Note, Yardbird Suite (Canada), Bourbon Street, Sescs, North City Jazz Festival (Serbia), Santos Jazz Festival, Nisville Jazz Festival (Serbia), Bansko Jazz Festival (Bulgaria), Summer Jazz Festival (Slovenia), Play Jazz Festival, MB Jazz (Souza Lima Berklee), etc... 

Learn more...

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Photo: Ze Cintra

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Igor Willcox is an endorser of Domene Cymbals,  Nagano Drums, Williams Drumsticks and DrumHeads, Datalink Cables, Pad Gorilla, and Power Click.

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