Jovino Santos Neto: Canto do Rio

performed by Jovino Santos Neto Quinteto

These pieces are from our latest CD Canto do Rio, which was nominated for a Latin Grammy in 2004. Each one represents a different groove based on traditional Brazilian rhythms and is arranged to feature the individual musicianship and collective interactions of the JSN Quinteto.

—Jovino Santos Neto

About the composer

Jovino Santos Neto Photo: Daniel Sheeha

The barriers between classical music, jazz, and indigenous Brazilian music have been obscured by Rio de Janeiro-born and Seattle-based pianist, keyboardist, and flutist Jovino Santos Neto. A member of Hermeto Pascoal's band from 1977 to 1992, Santo Neto has continued to expand on his world music-influenced vocabulary. He built on his knowledge of Brazilian music during stints with Sergio Mendes in 1992 and Airto Moreira and Flora Purim's group, Fourth World, from 1993 until 1997. He has also worked with such artists as Mike Marshall, Richard Boukas, Celso Machado and Chitravina N. Ravikiran. He has recorded several albums with Gary Stroutsos, including the Native American-influenced People of the Willows. ln 1994, he toured Europe with Swiss cellist David Pezzoti. Santos Neto's 1997 debut solo album, Caboclo, featuring the accompaniment of his quartet members, was followed by Ao Vivo em Olympia in 2000 (with the addition of percussionist Jeff Busch and Harvey Wainapel on saxes and clarinet) and by Canto do Rio in 2003. Canto do Rio was commissioned by Chamber Music America's New Works program and was nominated for a 2004 Latin Grammy Award for Best Latin Jazz Album.

Studying classical piano from the age of 12, Santos Neto moved to Beatles and Rolling Stones-influenced pop by his 15th birthday. He began to focus on jazz while studying biology at McGill University in Montreal. Invited to tour Brazil with Hermeto Pascoal in 1977, Santos Neto remained an important part of the Brazilian multi-instrumentalist's band for 15 years, co-producing six albums, including Festa dos Deuses, which received a Sharp Prize as Best Instrumental Album in 1992, and scoring hundreds of Pascoal's compositions. Relocating to the United States in 1993 after performing on Sergio Mendes's Grammy award-winning world music album, Brasileiro, Santos Neto studied at the Cornish College of the Arts in Seattle, where he continues to teach piano, composition, and jazz ensemble.

About the performers

The Jovino Santos Neto Quinteto was formed in 1994 to develop and perform Santos Neto's original compositions. It features West Coast musicians Hans Teuber (saxophones, flute), Chuck Deardorf (bass), Mark Ivester (drums), and Jeff Busch (percussion). With two CDs already released on Liquid City Records—Caboclo (1997) and Live in Olympia (2001)—the Quinteto, along with special guest Harvey Wainapel (saxophones, clarinet) celebrated its third release last summer with Canto do Rio, a new CD that unites primeval Brazilian grooves such as the choro, maxixe, and ciranda with modern instruments and concepts. The result is a powerful and energetic blend that never fails to stir minds, hearts, and feet into a celebration of music and life. The JSNQ has performed at several important West Coast venues, such as Yoshi's, Bumbershoot Festival, Earshot Jazz Festival, the Filoli Concert Selies, and many others.