Biography

Ale Ravanello

Brazilian blues harmonica player, singer, songwriter and educator, with more than 25 years of career.

Ale Ravanello
Who he is

Blues, harmonica and voice

Ale Ravanello is a Brazilian blues harmonica player, singer, composer and educator from Porto Alegre, in Rio Grande do Sul. With more than 25 years of professional experience, he has performed across Brazil and abroad, combining the language of Chicago and Delta blues with his own original music.

Harmonica and voice are central to his work, which also engages with jazz and Brazilian music depending on the project and the context of each performance. Ale works across different formations: as a soloist, in a duo with guitarist Nicola Spolidoro, in a duo with pianist Mari Kerber, and fronting the Ale Ravanello Blues Combo, his blues quartet.

Blues Combo · Ale & Nicola · Mari & Ale · Solo
18 yearsof blues — Ale Ravanello Blues Combo, in 2026
4 albumsstudio and live discography
1 live DVDrecorded at the Mississippi Delta Blues Festival
Brazil + abroadperformances
Career
  • The Ale Ravanello Blues Combo was formed in 2008, bringing together Ale Ravanello (harmonica and vocals), Nicola Spolidoro (guitar), Sérgio Selbach (bass) and Clark Carballo (drums).
  • Festival stages across Brazil, including the Mississippi Delta Blues Festival, Ibitipoca Blues Festival, Festa da Uva and the Praia do Rosa Blues Festival.
  • Has shared the stage with international blues names such as Bob Stroger, Billy Branch and Carlos Johnson, and was chosen to open one of Kim Wilson's Blues All-Stars shows.
  • On tours by international artists through southern Brazil, he has backed names including Phil Guy, Magic Slim, Curtis Salgado, Kenny Neal, Donnie Nichilo, Guy King and Andy Just.
  • In 2022, he backed American bluesman D.K. Harrell on his dates in Brazil.
  • Endorses Serrano Amps (custom-built harmonica tube amplifiers) and Hohner harmonicas.
  • Studied Popular Music at UFRGS and, between 2016 and 2017, was a BIC UFRGS–REUNI undergraduate research scholar in an ethnomusicology project on Kaingang songs and Guarani Mbyá narratives, supervised by professor Marília Raquel Albornoz Stein — presented at the VIII National Meeting of the Brazilian Association of Ethnomusicology (ENABET), in Rio de Janeiro, in 2017.
  • In 2009, toured Argentina twice with the Blues Combo, including the Buenos Aires Blues Festival, where the band recorded its live album Live at Mr. Jones.
  • Between April and May 2026, toured Italy with three shows alongside the Blue Notes Trio (Marco Ghezzi, Francesco Rasicci and Valerio Sabini), in San Benedetto del Tronto, Alba Adriatica and Martinsicuro. Ale is also an Italian and European Union citizen, available for touring within the EU without a work visa.
  • The duo with Nicola Spolidoro is now more than 20 years running, with shows in Porto Alegre and other Brazilian cities, plus performances in Tepequém and Boa Vista (RR) and in Dubai.
  • The duo with pianist Mari Kerber began during their Popular Music studies at UFRGS and has performed in Porto Alegre, Belo Horizonte, Brasília, Bento Gonçalves, Gramado, Caxias do Sul, Garibaldi and Pelotas, including the Gramado Jazz & Blues Festival, Festival Internacional Sesc de Música, Concertos Comunitários Zaffari and Fenavinho.
Discography

Albums and DVD

Live at Mr. JonesLive at Mr. Jones · 2009 HauntedHaunted · 2011 Alley CatAlley Cat · 2015 Live at Mississippi Delta Blues FestivalLive DVD · 2017 Seize the DaySeize the Day · 2025
  • Live at Mr. Jones (2009) — live album recorded on tour in Argentina, released at the Buenos Aires Blues Festival.
  • Haunted (2011) — original material; the only blues record nominated for that year's Prêmio Açorianos for Best CD, a category open to all genres.
  • Alley Cat (2015) — released by Mississippi Delta Blues Records, nominated for the Prêmio Açorianos.
  • Live DVD (2017) — recorded at the Mississippi Delta Blues Festival.
  • Seize the Day (2025) — most recent album.

Other work: So Many Stories to Tell (2019), with Mari Kerber · Bourbon Blues (2011), with guitarist Gambona.

In pictures

On stage and in the studio

Ale Ravanello, portraitPortrait
Ale Ravanello, soloSolo
Ale Ravanello Blues ComboBlues Combo
Ale Ravanello and Nicola SpolidoroAle & Nicola
Mari Kerber and Ale RavanelloMari & Ale
Ale Ravanello, photo by Filipe CondePhoto: Filipe Conde
Ale Ravanello Blues Combo, photo by Zé Carlos de AndradePhoto: Zé Carlos de Andrade
Press & references

Coverage and recognition

Ale Ravanello's work has been documented by press outlets, cultural institutions and professional platforms.

Harmonica teacher

Blues harmonica lessons

Beyond his career as a performing musician, Ale Ravanello also works as a harmonica teacher, with a particular focus on blues. His teaching approach draws on more than 25 years of professional experience with the instrument, covering technique, blues language, improvisation and practical musicianship.

Ale is a teacher at Escola do Blues, where he offers a complete blues harmonica course for musicians at different levels of experience.

Want to bring this show to your event?

Available for festivals, venues, clubs and events in Brazil and abroad.

Book Ale Ravanello
aleravanello@gmail.com WhatsApp +55 51 99831-7889 Instagram
Press Kit Download EPK (PDF)
Other languages

This biography is also available in:

Português · Italiano · Español