"Gaia Petrelli Wilmer is a highly original, visionary composer/instrumentalist. Her music is unique, soulful, plaintive, mysterious, organic, and flat out beautiful. She also makes use of drums and percussion in a very unusual, creative way, which I appreciate. Many young musicians I hear are impressive, few really move me and touch my heart like Gaia's music does. Bravo."
Ra Kalam Bob Moses
"Gaia's music is beautiful, free flowing, and has all the resonance of her Brazilian background. I know that you will enjoy what her music has to offer, as a listener. Please check out the music of the composer Gaia Wilmer. Today!"
George Garzone
Originally from southern Brazil, Gaia Wilmer is a composer, arranger, saxophonist, and bandleader whose work bridges jazz with Brazilian music and free improvisation. Active in both the United States and Brazil, Wilmer has established a strong presence in the New York and Boston jazz communities while maintaining an extensive performance and recording career throughout Brazil.
As a leader, Wilmer maintains several long-running projects that reflect her wide-ranging musical interests. Her Gaia Wilmer Large Ensemble, active in both Brazil and the US, through which she explores extended-form composition, arrangements, and re-compositions of standards and folk material. With this ensemble, she has received a national grant from Brazil’s CCBB Foundation, toured extensively throughout Brazil, and performed multiple concerts at Lincoln Center in New York. In 2023, the ensemble released its first album, with Sunnyside Records, paying homage to Egberto Gismonti, featuring Gismonti himself alongside Jaques Morelenbaum and Gabriel Grossi. Wilmer is currently preparing two additional large-ensemble releases with Sunnyside Records, scheduled for 2026 and 2027, celebrating the music of Gilberto Gil and featuring a NY-based band and vocalist Mônica Salmaso.
Wilmer also leads the Gaia Wilmer Sextet, based in São Paulo, focused on original modern Brazilian music and contemporary jazz writing. With this group, she has released two albums on YB Music, including a project celebrating the life and work of Mário de Andrade and his folk music research, which was supported by a grant from the state of São Paulo (PROAC). In New York, she leads the Gaia Wilmer Octet, dedicated to original compositions and reimagined Brazilian repertoire, with whom she released her debut album of original music in 2016 on Red Piano Records.
In addition to her own ensembles, Wilmer has been involved in numerous collaborative and crossover projects. Notable collaborations include work with drummer and composer Ra Kalam Bob Moses, with whom she released an album on Sunnyside Records in 2025, and with cellist and arranger Jaques Morelenbaum, resulting in a 2022 release on Biscoito Fino paying homage to Caetano Veloso. This project received federal support through Brazil’s Lei Rouanet, enabling a U.S. tour in 2024 with performances at venues such as the Kennedy Center, Lincoln Center, and Berklee Performance Center. During this tour, Wilmer also taught and gave workshops at institutions including Berklee College of Music, University of Maine, New England Conservatory, and Hunter College.
Wilmer has received commissions to write music for orchestras, big bands, small ensembles, and interdisciplinary projects involving visual artists. In addition to her work as a performer and composer, she is active as a producer and music director, collaborating on a wide range of recording and performance projects.
She holds a Bachelor’s degree in International Relations, a degree in Jazz Composition from Berklee College of Music, and a Master’s degree from the New England Conservatory.