Álvaro Kapaz was born in São Paulo, Brazil. After 5 years of piano, Al moved to a more "rocker" instrument and started to take guitar lessons in the neighborhood music school, at the age of 13. At that time, nothing could compete with Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin, and other classics, so he devoted himself to Rock and Blues, also having a strong and constant Heavy Metal influence. 

After many high-school bands and jams, in 2000, Álvaro went to school to get a degree in Economics, after which he went into banking, only to find out his real passion was music. He had been constantly playing in several bands and developing his unique style, a blend between his Rock/Blues past with his new-found jazz/funk interests.

It wasn't until 2006 he decided to dedicate his life to it, and went to Boston to study at Berklee College of Music. Graduated in 2010 Magna Cum Laude with 3 majors, Music Business, Film Scoring and Pro-Music/Performance, he was awarded the Berklee Achievement Scholarship for his outstanding involvement with the school. At Berklee, he was able to develop his musicianship into a new level, always playing in studio sessions and bands. Today, besides his own Project K-Paz, Álvaro is the go-to guitar player for several New York City based groups as well as touring acts stoping by the Big Apple. Some of his strong influences are Joe Perry, John Scofield, Steve Vai, Dimebag Darrell, Slash, SRV, Tuck Andress, Scott Henderson, Joe Satriani, Joe Pass, Jimi Hendrix, and others.

In 2010, Álvaro took the role of Artistic Director, with partner Tom Howie, of the St. Barth Summer Sessions, which has been constantly growing and on its 5th edition this year, marking his official entry in the roster of players in the Music Business. Since then he has started to venture into Intercontinental booking, as well as Musical Direction and Production.

After living in New York for over 3 years, Álvaro has moved back to his native São Paulo, in Brazil, and is now bringing his acquired knowledge and experience to the Brazilian music scene, where he quickly placed himself as a freelance musician, as well as an entrepreneur in the field of music education, while still in contact with New York and continuing to play there as often as possible.

And the best is yet to come...

Alvaro Kapaz