By
Steve M Herron
Submitted On January 27, 2016
Laurindo Almeida was born in Brazil in September 1917. He was
without a doubt among the most versatile guitarists of the 20th century.
He was among the very few guitar players to accomplish great success in
both the classical and jazz fields of music. Charlie Byrd was the only
other guitarist to do so.
Almeida was the total musician, not just a dazzling soloist and accompanist with a distinctive warm tone, but also an impressive composer and arranger. His overall musical talent and original concepts gained him massive worldwide respect amongst his peers in the 60 plus years of his professional career.
Laurindo Almeida got his early musical training from his mom who was a classical pianist. She hoped that he too would end up being a pianist however Laurindo fell in love with a guitar owned by his sister Maria. In a short time it became clear to all around him that he was on the road to being a master guitarist. In 1936 he signed on with a Brazilian cruise line, the "Cuyaba".
Throughout the voyage to Europe Laurindo took in a variety of musical forms including his very first exposure to jazz. On a visit to Paris he heard the "Hot Club of France" string quintet starring the Gypsy virtuoso guitar player Django Reinhardt. This group made a terrific impression on him. On his return to Brazil he settled in Rio and signed up for the position of staff guitar player / arranger with Radio Mayrink Veiga.
By 1944 Almeida had reached the heights of his career in Brazil. In 1947 he chose to move to the USA and settle in Hollywood. Here he worked as a studio guitarist in films and as a classical guitar soloist with violinist Elizabeth Waldo. His interest in jazz helped him in getting the guitar seat in the well-known Stan Kenton Orchestra which ended up becoming famous throughout the entire world for its' contributions to jazz music. His most impressive recordings with Kenton were his solo work in Pete Rugolo's "Lament" and his own composition "Amazonia".
In 1950 Laurindo Almeida left The Stan Kenton Orchestra to lead a more diverse musical career. In 1953-54 he joined forces with saxophonist Bud Shank and with the addition of bass and drums taped 3 dazzling recordings entitled "Brazilliance". These recordings were the forerunners of bossa nova which mixed Brazilian rhythms with American jazz.
Almeida's flawless taste as a guitarist, arranger, and composer shines through on all these recordings. It was throughout this time that he made the very first of many solo guitar record albums of both popular and classical music for the Capitol and Decca record labels.
In 1966 Laurindo made the American debut recordings of Radames Gnattalt's "Concerto de Copacabana" and the Villa-Lobos Guitar Concerto. Throughout his career Almeida was years ahead of his peers in his promotion of the guitar music of Barrios, Gnattali, Villa-Lobos, and other exceptional South American composers. From the 1960s he performed, recorded, and published through his Brazilliance Publishing Company the guitar works of these and other fantastic South American composers.
In the 1970s Laurindo once again gained great international popularity with his "L.A. Four" quartet which included saxophonist Bud Shank, bassist Ray Brown, and drummer Shelley Manne. This group was a direct continuation of his initial Brazilliance quartet.
From the 1970s right up until the time of his death Laurindo Almeida stayed one of the most in demand guitarist / composer / arrangers in Hollywood. He often recorded and played concerts with his wife Deltra (Didi) Eamon, the gifted Canadian soprano whom he married in 1971.
Laurindo Almeida won 10 Grammy Awards and had a long list of movie scores to his name consisting of "Viva Zapata, The Godfather, A Star is Born, Camelot, and The Agony and the Ecstasy". He was a prolific composer. One of the Grammy Awards was for his composition "Discantus which tied with Igor Stravinsky in 1961 for best contemporary composition.
His numerous original works consisted of concertos for guitar and orchestra (he taped his very first concerto on the Concord Concerto label in November 1979) and his classical guitar quintet. Almeida received an Oscar for writing the music to the animated fable "The Magic Tree". In October 1977 he was granted the Certificate of Appreciation from the American String Teachers Association for "a lifetime of distinguished and dedicated service to the guitar in the United States".
Laurindo likewise published several valuable books of fingerstyle arrangements of classical and jazz standards for solo guitar in addition to an excellent guitar technique book. These works are a huge contribution to the 20th century solo repertoire for the guitar. He donated his special collection of over 1,000 pieces of music and original compositions to the California State University at Northridge.
Laurindo Almeida was one of the busiest and most popular guitar players in the United States. There is no doubt that through his massive number of recordings, publications, and numerous live concert performances that he was one of the most prominent guitar players on the North American scene and the entire world for over forty years. He passed away in Los Angeles on July 26, 1995.
Almeida was the total musician, not just a dazzling soloist and accompanist with a distinctive warm tone, but also an impressive composer and arranger. His overall musical talent and original concepts gained him massive worldwide respect amongst his peers in the 60 plus years of his professional career.
Laurindo Almeida got his early musical training from his mom who was a classical pianist. She hoped that he too would end up being a pianist however Laurindo fell in love with a guitar owned by his sister Maria. In a short time it became clear to all around him that he was on the road to being a master guitarist. In 1936 he signed on with a Brazilian cruise line, the "Cuyaba".
Throughout the voyage to Europe Laurindo took in a variety of musical forms including his very first exposure to jazz. On a visit to Paris he heard the "Hot Club of France" string quintet starring the Gypsy virtuoso guitar player Django Reinhardt. This group made a terrific impression on him. On his return to Brazil he settled in Rio and signed up for the position of staff guitar player / arranger with Radio Mayrink Veiga.
By 1944 Almeida had reached the heights of his career in Brazil. In 1947 he chose to move to the USA and settle in Hollywood. Here he worked as a studio guitarist in films and as a classical guitar soloist with violinist Elizabeth Waldo. His interest in jazz helped him in getting the guitar seat in the well-known Stan Kenton Orchestra which ended up becoming famous throughout the entire world for its' contributions to jazz music. His most impressive recordings with Kenton were his solo work in Pete Rugolo's "Lament" and his own composition "Amazonia".
In 1950 Laurindo Almeida left The Stan Kenton Orchestra to lead a more diverse musical career. In 1953-54 he joined forces with saxophonist Bud Shank and with the addition of bass and drums taped 3 dazzling recordings entitled "Brazilliance". These recordings were the forerunners of bossa nova which mixed Brazilian rhythms with American jazz.
Almeida's flawless taste as a guitarist, arranger, and composer shines through on all these recordings. It was throughout this time that he made the very first of many solo guitar record albums of both popular and classical music for the Capitol and Decca record labels.
In 1966 Laurindo made the American debut recordings of Radames Gnattalt's "Concerto de Copacabana" and the Villa-Lobos Guitar Concerto. Throughout his career Almeida was years ahead of his peers in his promotion of the guitar music of Barrios, Gnattali, Villa-Lobos, and other exceptional South American composers. From the 1960s he performed, recorded, and published through his Brazilliance Publishing Company the guitar works of these and other fantastic South American composers.
In the 1970s Laurindo once again gained great international popularity with his "L.A. Four" quartet which included saxophonist Bud Shank, bassist Ray Brown, and drummer Shelley Manne. This group was a direct continuation of his initial Brazilliance quartet.
From the 1970s right up until the time of his death Laurindo Almeida stayed one of the most in demand guitarist / composer / arrangers in Hollywood. He often recorded and played concerts with his wife Deltra (Didi) Eamon, the gifted Canadian soprano whom he married in 1971.
Laurindo Almeida won 10 Grammy Awards and had a long list of movie scores to his name consisting of "Viva Zapata, The Godfather, A Star is Born, Camelot, and The Agony and the Ecstasy". He was a prolific composer. One of the Grammy Awards was for his composition "Discantus which tied with Igor Stravinsky in 1961 for best contemporary composition.
His numerous original works consisted of concertos for guitar and orchestra (he taped his very first concerto on the Concord Concerto label in November 1979) and his classical guitar quintet. Almeida received an Oscar for writing the music to the animated fable "The Magic Tree". In October 1977 he was granted the Certificate of Appreciation from the American String Teachers Association for "a lifetime of distinguished and dedicated service to the guitar in the United States".
Laurindo likewise published several valuable books of fingerstyle arrangements of classical and jazz standards for solo guitar in addition to an excellent guitar technique book. These works are a huge contribution to the 20th century solo repertoire for the guitar. He donated his special collection of over 1,000 pieces of music and original compositions to the California State University at Northridge.
Laurindo Almeida was one of the busiest and most popular guitar players in the United States. There is no doubt that through his massive number of recordings, publications, and numerous live concert performances that he was one of the most prominent guitar players on the North American scene and the entire world for over forty years. He passed away in Los Angeles on July 26, 1995.
Peabody Conservatory trained guitarist Steven Herron is an expert on jazz guitar instruction.
He has spent most of his adult life playing professionally at clubs and
restaurants as well as teaching private students at his studio. Sign up
now for his Free Guitar Course and find out more about Laurindo Almeida guitar solos.
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