Recipient Information
Location
Rockville, Maryland
Year of Award
2026
Grant or Fellowship
Jazz Road Tours Grant
Grant Amount
$14,792
ARCO BELO is a group of high-energy improvisers described as "ego-less, genre-agnostic and without expectations; it's the sound of the future, today" (JazzTimes). Led by pianist, accordionist, and composer Simone Baron, their adventurous compositions traverse soundscapes of circus-adjacent, avant-garde diasporic chamber music, creative jazz, and Brazilian music.
Since 2016, the ensemble has performed for audiences across the U.S., including at the Kennedy Center, Strathmore, and Brevard Music Center, toured the West Coast and Southeast to critical acclaim, and won grants from South Arts / Jazz Roads, the Maryland State Arts Council and Chamber Music America’s inaugural Performance Plus grant. Their debut album, The Space Between Disguises, was released in November 2019 and lauded as "editor’s pick" in both DownBeat and JazzTimes magazines.