Pianist, flutist, and composer Jovino Santos Neto was born September 18, 1954 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Studying classical piano from the age of 12, Jovino 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 has 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 archiving thousands of Pascoal’s compositions.
Santos Neto continues to expand on his world music-influenced vocabulary. He built on his knowledge of Brazilian music during a stint with Airto Moreira and Flora Purim’s group, Fourth World, from 1993 until 1997. He also has worked with such artists as Mike Marshall, Richard Boukas, Celso Machado and Chitravina N. Ravikiran.
He toured Europe in 1994 with Swiss cellist David Pezzoti. Santos Neto’s 1997 debut solo album, Caboclo, was followed by Ao Vivo em Olympia in 2000 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. He also received commissions by the International Association for Jazz Education (IAJE) and American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP), Jack Straw Foundation, Seattle Arts Commission, Artist Trust and Meet the Composer. Jovino was the recipient of a Golden Ear Award as the Best Jazz Instrumentalist of the Pacific Northwest in 2004.
He relocated to Seattle, in the United States, in 1993 after performing on Sergio Mendes’s Grammy award-winning world music album, Brasileiro. Santos Neto studied conducting at the Cornish College of the Arts in Seattle, where he continues to teach piano, composition, and jazz ensemble. He gives lectures and workshops on Brazilian music worldwide and continues to collaborate with his long time mentor Hermeto Pascoal as the music director of the Hermeto Pascoal Big Band.
He is a member of the IAJE, Chamber Music America, National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences (NARAS), Latin Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences (LARAS) and the Seattle Composers Alliance.
Discography
Caboclo (1997)
Ao Vivo em Olympia (2000)
Balaio (Malandro, 2001)
Canto do Rio (2003)
Serenata, with Mike Marshall (2003)
Brazil Duets with Mike Marshall (2005)
Roda Carioca (Adventure Music, 2006)
Alma do Nordeste (Adventure Music, 2008)
Veja o Som (Adventure Music, 2010)
Current (2011)
Guris (Adventure Music, 2017)
Author: Angel Romero
Angel Romero y Ruiz has dedicated his life to musical exploration. His efforts included the creation of two online portals, worldmusiccentral.org and musicasdelmundo.com. In addition, Angel is the co-founder of the Transglobal World Music Chart, a panel of world music DJs and writers that celebrates global sounds. Furthermore, he delved into the record business, producing world music studio albums and compilations. His works have appeared on Alula Records, Ellipsis Arts, Indígena Records and Music of the World.
