Laurindo Almeida

Laurindo Almeida (Sept 2, 1917, São Paulo, Brazil - July 26, 1995, Van Nuys, California) was a Brazilian virtuoso guitarist and composer often called "The King of BossaNova".
At the age of 19, Almeida worked his way to Europe playing guitar in a cruise ship orchestra. In Paris, he attended a performance at the Hot Club by Stephane Grappelli and famed guitarist Django Reinhardt, who became a lifelong artistic inspiration.[
In 1935 Laurindo moved to Rio de Janeiro, where he performed in two of the most prominent music venues of that period - Casino da Urca and Rádio Mayrink Veiga.
When the Government made gambling illegal in Brazil Laurindo Almeida, who at that time was regarded as one of the finest guitarists in Brazil, moved to the USA in 1947 by invitation of Stan Kenton.
In 1949, he recorded the first of a series of albums. In 1953 he recorded, with Bud Shank, two albums called "Brazilliance" for the World Pacific label. He also recorded with Baden Powell, Stan Getz and Herbie Mann, among others, and recorded for film and television.
In the 1960’s, Laurindo Almeida was a member of the Modern Jazz Quartet and enjoyed his greatest recognition, winning 6 Grammy Awards for his work: in 1959 for his performance on "Danzas", in 1960 for "The Spanish Guitars Of Laurindo Almeida" and "Conversations With The Guitar". The following year he won Grammy Awards for Best Engineered Album, Classical and Best Chamber Music Performance with "Discantos" and "Reverie For Spanish Guitars" and in 1962 further honours with nominations with "Viva Bossa Nova!" in the Best Performance By An Orchestra For Dancing and Best Jazz Performance categories and a third nomination with "The Intimate Bach" (Best Classical performance)
In 1964 the album "Guitar From Ipanema" won the grammy for Best Instrumental Jazz Performance, in 1972 he was nominated for the Best Soloist award with "The Art Of Laurindo Almeida".

Artist website: www.laurindoalmeida.com

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