Laurindo Almeida – The Most Awesome Jazz Music Guitar Performer Ever!

The worldwide acclaim of audiences and music critics alike has established Laurindo Almeida (1917-1995) as one of the industry’s truly excellent classical guitar performers, and yet he is also well remembered as a featured soloist with the Modern Jazz Quartet on two critically acclaimed worldwide tours. From Beethoven and Bach to Bossa Nova, Broadway hits and jazz standards — all of these kinds of Guitar Music are an aspect of his apparently limitless performance repertoire. Many of Laurindo’s guitar arrangements are available in his collection books of jazz guitar tabs and jazz guitar tablatures. Most significantly, he did it all with outstanding skill and artistry.

Born in Sao Paulo, Brazil, he received his earliest musical education on the piano from his mother who was a classical pianist. His sister Maria was the family guitar student, but it was Laurindo who was to master the classical guitar and eventually become a virtuoso on the instrument as well as one of Brazil’s most highly regarded musicians.

Leaving a successful profession in live concert and radio performance in Brazil, he relocated to Hollywood, California in 1947 where he spent a year doing concert events and movie work. But jazz lured him to the orchestra of the progressive jazz musician Stan Kenton. He introduced to Kenton, and the world, his new and innovative conception, Bossa Nova. His world premier presentations of Pete Rugulo’s “Lament” and his own “Amazonia” at the Chicago Opera House and Carnegie Hall drew far reaching acclaim! Today’s jazz guitarists are still guided by the progressive ideas he introduced in the course of the Stan Kenton years.

Capitol and Decca record companies spearheaded new triumphs for Almeida’s superlative live performance profession with classical guitar recordings. He was chosen for world premier recordings of compositions by two of Brazil’s greatest composers, “Concerto for Guitar” by Heitor Villa-Lobos, and Radames Gnattali’s “Concerto de Copacabana.” Almeida has over 200 compositions to his credit in addition to countless transcriptions and arrangements of the classics for guitar.

A multiple time champion in Downbeat and Playboy magazines jazz polls and a Movie Poll champion since 1947, Laurindo was nominated 16 different times by The Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences and won 5 Grammy awards. For one Grammy, his composition “Discantus for Three Guitars” tied with Igor Stravinsky’s “Moments for Piano and Orchestra” for Best Contemporary Composition. Among the many nationwide and international citations he acquired was a Certificate of Honor for having the honor of becoming a “reference file” in the Library of Congress, Washington, DC, where all of the manuscripts will eventually reside. All told, Laurindo Almeida was a complete guitar player and musician of the highest order whose legacy will continue for all time! Luckily, for aspiring guitar players Laurindo published numerous collection books of his guitar arrangements and transcriptions that are still available today!

About the Author

Peabody Conservatory trained guitarist Steven Herron helps people become better guitar performers His company ChordMelody.com features an unique selection of
jazz guitar tablatures

as well as instructional DVDs by Laurindo Almeida himself. Find out more and claim Steven’s popular free monthly guitar lesson e-course available at: =>

Laurindo Almeida guitar tabs

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