ROSA PASSOS was born surrounded by much music, in the city of Salvador, in the Brazilian state of Bahia. Stimulated by her parents, Rosa was already a promising pianist when she was five. As a teenager discovering João Gilberto and Tom Jobim, she replaced the piano with the guitar, and since then she has been completely dedicated to her art of composing and singing.

When she was 15, she appeared successfully on television in Salvador. In 1972 her composition "Mutilados" won the first prize in the University Festival promoted by Aratu TV in the state of Bahia. In 1979 Passos launched the Re-Creation album, containing her own compositions with the co-composer Fernando de Oliveira, who has been accompanying her career as a constant partner.

In 1991, Rosa launched her first CD - Curare - a refined record consisting of Brazilian Popular Music standards by Tom Jobim, Ary Barroso, Carlos, Johnny Alf, and Bororó. In 1996 she launched the Pano Pra Manga CD, with most songs composed by her. Rosa's compositions have also attracted the interest of the American singer Kenny Rankin, who in 1996 recorded the songs "Verão" (Those Eyes) and "Outono" (Stay), both of them with the vocal participation of Rosa Passos. In September 1996 Oscar Castro-Neves - a renowned Brazilian musician living in the United States - invited Rosa to participate in a Brazilian night of Jazz at the Bowl, held at the Hollywood Bowl.

In August 2001 Passos presented a show in New Orleans (voice and guitar), from which arose an invitation to record a new CD, Me and My Heart, launched in the American market in 2002, with the participation of bass player Paulo Paulell

i.

In 2002, the Azul CD was launched in the Brazilian market, gathering her favorite songs by Gilberto Gil, João Bosco, and Djivan with special arrangements. In August Passos participated in Yo-Yo Ma's Brazilian music CD, with two songs by Tom Jobim ("Chega de Saudade" and "Amor em Paz"). In the same month she presented the show Tribute to Elis Regina at Lincoln Center, New York, for an audience of 6000 people. Closing the year 2002, Rosa Passos returned to the United States to record the CD entitled Among Friends with Ron Carter. At the beginning of 2003, the CD Me and My Heart was launched in Brazil, with its title in Portuguese - Eu e Meu Coração.

Her 2003 schedule includes three presentations in Russia, one with the Moscow Chamber Orchestra. This year Rosa Passos will also tour throughout the United States with the pianist Cesar Camargo Mariano.