Benjamin Kissola Gonçalves
Benjamin Kissola Gonçalves is a Brazilian bassist and composer with Congolese and Angolan roots. Even as a teenager, he played gospel and African music in his parents' family band. From 2007 to 2012, he studied jazz bass at the Zurich University of the Arts (ZHdK) under Rätus Flisch, Uli Heinzler, and Dominique Girod. After his studies, he discovered his love for South American and Caribbean music, and from 2013 to 2018, he lived near São Paulo, Brazil. Since 2019, he has been back in Switzerland, composing and playing in various formations spanning gospel, jazz, and South American music.