jovino santos neto

jovino santos neto

bio

A master pianist, composer, arranger, flutist, and player of a multitude of other instruments including the melodica and the accordion, Jovino Santos Neto is one of the top Brazilian musicians working today. Currently based in Seattle, Washington, Jovino Santos Neto has throughout his career been closely affiliated with the Brazilian master Hermeto Pascoal. He was an integral part of Pascoal's group from 1977-1992 where he fine tuned his artistry and co-produced several legendary records during that time. His relationship with Hermeto Pascoal continues as his mentor figures prominently in his recent recordings. Jovino has been nominated twice for a Latin Grammy Award for best Latin Jazz Album, in 2004 and 2006.
Jovino has received commissions by the IAJE and ASCAP, Jack Straw Foundation, Seattle Arts Commission, Artist Trust and Meet the Composer. He was the recipient of a Golden Ear Award as the Best Jazz Instrumentalist of the Pacific Northwest in 2004.

In 2006 Jovino was awarded a grant from Petrobras, the Brazilian State Oil Company, to research, compose and record a new work inspired by the musical universe of Northeastern Brazil. The resulting CD, "Alma do Nordeste" (Soul of the Northeast) was released in 2008 in Brazil and in the US. It features some of the best musicians in Brazil and once again solidifies Jovino's reputation as one of the most creative composers and musicians in activity today.
Since moving to Seattle in 1993, Jovino Santos Neto has continued to tour the world and record prolifically. From 1993-1997 he was a prominent member of Flora Purim's and Airto Moreira's Fourth World. In addition he has recorded multiple CD's with his Seattle group, made a masterful CD with Mandolinist Mike Marshall, and in 2006 returned to his native Rio De Janeiro to record his CD "Roda Carioca (Rio Circle)" with an all Brazilian All-Star lineup with special guests Joyce on vocals, and Hermeto Pascoal on multiple instruments, and several other notable Brazilian session musicians and long time colleagues. Jovino Santos Neto is living proof of the fact that the music coming from Brazil is among the most creative in the world.

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 archiving thousands 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 conducting at the Cornish College of the Arts in Seattle, where he continues to teach piano, composition, and jazz ensemble. Besides performing worldwide, he gives lectures and workshops on Brazilian music 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, NARAS, LARAS and the Seattle Composers Alliance.