Egberto Gismonti
Egberto Amin Gismonti (born 5 December 1947) is a Brazilian composer, guitarist and pianist.
Gismonti is a self-taught guitarist. After returning to Brazil, he designed guitars with more than six strings, expanding the possibilities of the instrument. Approaching the fretboard as if it were a keyboard, Gismonti gives the impression that there is more than a single guitar player. Gismonti’s sojourn in the Xingu region of the Amazon basin made a lasting impression. This is documented musically in tunes such as “Yualapeti” and “Sapain” (Yualapeti shaman, Sapain) and in the recordings Dança das Cabeças (“Dance of the Heads”, 1977), Sol do Meio-Dia (“Noon Sun”, 1978), which he dedicated to the Xingu, and Duas Vozes(“Two Voices”, 1984).
The musical career of Gismonti spans five decades. The major phases are distinguished by record company, the ensemble format, and the musical collaborators. The most important ensembles are his Brazilian group Academia de Danças, including Mauro Senise (saxophone and flutes), Zeca Assumpção (bass) and Nenê (Realcino Lima Filho, drums and percussion), the duo with Naná Vasconcelos(percussion), and the trio with Charlie Haden (bass) and Jan Garbarek (saxophone). Dança das Cabecas, the first ECM record, was nominated “Album of the Year” by Stereo Review and received the 1977 Großer Deutscher Schallplattenpreis.