Guinga

Guinga (Carlos Althier de Souza Lemos Escobar) (born June 10, 1950) is a Brazilian guitarist and composer born in Madureira, a working-class suburb of Rio de Janeiro. As a child, he was nicknamed "Gringo", because of his pale skin, and the artistic name "Guinga" comes from the way he pronounced the word.

Biography

His uncle taught him to play the guitar when he was eleven years old. Guinga began composing music at the age of 14. In 1967, when he was 17, his song "Sou Só Solidão" reached the first eliminatory round in Rede Globo's second Festival Internacional da Canção (International Festival of Song). At the age of 26, he began his five-year classical guitar studies with Jodacil Damasceno.

During the 1970s, Guinga accompanied famous singers such as Beth Carvalho and João Nogueira and recorded with samba legends Cartola and Clara Nunes. He also began a fertile songwriting partnership with the poet and lyricist Paulo Cesar Pinheiro. Their songs were recorded by important artists like Elis Regina, Nelson Gonçalves, Miúcha, Clara Nunes, and Michel Legrand.

During the same time, Guinga embarked on a parallel career in dentistry, which he practiced for nearly thirty years. His music career took off in earnest in 1990, when Ivan Lins and Vitor Martins formed the Velas label in order to release Guinga's first album, with a repertoire of songs he co-authored with lyricist Aldir Blanc.

Guinga is now widely considered to be Brazil's most innovative songwriter, as well as one of its foremost guitarists.

He is known for drawing on many musical genres, including choro, samba, baião, frevo, modinha, waltz, foxtrot, blues, classical music, and jazz. His compositions are often harmonically and rhythmically complex yet melodically accessible and emotionally resonant.

Discography

Albums

• Simples e Absurdo (1991) Velas
• Delírio Carioca (1993) Velas
• Cheio de Dedos (1996) Velas
• Suíte Leopoldina (1999) Velas
• Cine Baronesa (2001) Velas
• A Música Brasileira deste Século por seus Autores e Intérpretes: Guinga (2002) Sesc
• Noturno Copacabana (2003) Velas
• Graffiando Vento - Guinga & Gabriele Mirabassi (2004) Egea
• Dialetto Carioca (2007) Egea
• Casa de Villa (2007) Biscoito Fino
• Saudade do Cordão - Guinga & Paulo Sérgio Santos (2009) Biscoito Fino
• Rasgando Seda - Guinga & Quinteto Villa-Lobos (2012) Sesc
• Francis e Guinga - Guinga & Francis Hime (2013) Biscoito Fino

Contributing artist

• The Rough Guide to the Music of Brazil (1998) (World Music Network)

External links

• Guinga's Website
• Guinga Codex Page
• Guinga Discography, including all his tunes recorded by others
• Guinga Rising, an article about the composer's life and work by Daniella Thompson