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Oscar Castro-Neves

Few musicians in the world today can boast a career that reflects a lifetime of accomplishments as diverse, rich and acclaimed as those Oscar Castro-Neves has achieved. Renowned as a composer and arranger for his sophisticated harmonic concepts and the exquisite texture and color of his orchestrations, he is equally well known for his distinctive guitar style and as an accomplished record producer who has worked with dozens of major artists in a wide range of jazz, popular, Brazilian and classical idioms.

Famed jazz critic Leonard Feather wrote of Oscar, "The crystalline beauty of his arrangements is matched by the rare delicacy with which they are interpreted. Castro-Neves is incapable of creating a dull moment, but that is an understatement: He is only capable of generating rhythmic, harmonic and melodic joy."

Oscar was born May 15, 1940, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, one of triplets in a highly musical family. Along with Antonio Carlos Jobim, João Gilberto and a handful of other young composers, he emerged in the early 1960s as one of the founding figures of the musical movement that became known worldwide as Bossa Nova. His first instrument was the cavaquinho, the small Brazilian guitar used in such traditional styles as choro. He soon added the piano and classical guitar to his repertoire and began performing with his three brothers — pianist Mário, bassist Iko and drummer Léo. At the tender age of just sixteen, Oscar's first recorded song, "Chora Tua Tristeza," became a national hit in Brazil and generated over fifty covers recorded by various artists. In the studio, he recorded historic albums with the music’s biggest names, including Vinicius de Moraes, the poet laureate of the bossa movement; Dorival Caymmi, the godfather of Bahian-rooted Afro-Brazilian sounds; and the soon to be famous female vocal group Quarteto em Cy. In 1962, a year before “The Girl From Ipanema” became a Top 10 hit, he helped lead the Bossa Nova invasion of the U.S., playing a central role as a performer and accompanist for other noted Brazilian musicians at the historic presentation of Brazil’s new music at Carnegie Hall.

Following his U.S. debut, Oscar and his quartet toured in the illustrious company of the Dizzy Gillespie Quintet, the Stan Getz Quartet, the Lalo Schifrin Trio and the Laurindo de Almeida Quartet before he returned to Brazil to resume a busy schedule as an arranger and producer. In 1971 he made Los Angeles his permanent home, joining Sergio Mendes' Brazil ‘66 group as the featured guitarist, music director and vocal coach. When he left the group in 1981, he had recorded more than 15 albums with Mendes, had co-producer many, and had appeared in concert in dozens of the world’s major cities.

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12
Album Review

Eliane Elias: Quietude

Read "Quietude" reviewed by Edward Blanco


Brazilian-born pianist/vocalist and multi-Grammy-winning artist Eliane Elias returns to her musical roots on Quietude, her 31st album as leader and a follow up to her Grammy Award-winning album Mirror, Mirror (Candid Records, 2021), a duet with the late Chick Corea and Chucho Valdes. Recorded in Sao Paulo, Brazil, and in New York, on this album Elias shares eleven of her own personal favorite bossa nova songs showcasing her sultry Portuguese vocals and relegating her talents on the piano to a ...

44
Album Review

Oscar Castro-Neves: Live at Blue Note Tokyo

Read "Live at Blue Note Tokyo" reviewed by Edward Blanco


Live at Blue Note Tokyo is a celebration of Brazilian jazz played in one of the foremost jazz clubs in the world--a gathering of old friends and the discovery of new friends, all coming together for legendary guitarist Oscar Castro-Neves. A founding father of the bossa nova musical movement, Castro-Neves became a leading figure in the genre, recording historic albums with Antonio Carlos Jobim, Dori Caymmi and Stan Getz, and touring with the likes of Dizzy Gillespie, Barbra Streisand, Ella ...

184
Album Review

Oscar Castro-Neves: All One

Read "All One" reviewed by Jerry D'Souza


Oscar Castro-Neves plays classical, pop, Brazilian music, and even a little bit of hip-hop on All One. It's a wide palette, but he succeeds in painting vivid portraits and creating a long-lasting impression.

Castro-Neves plays the guitar with clarity, letting the melody open compositions before creating rich harmonic textures as he goes out to explore. He does not wander far from the centre, but he does tell an interesting tale. He reveals the hues of “Double Rainbow with joyous notes ...

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Birthday

Jazz Musician of the Day: Oscar Castro-Neves

Jazz Musician of the Day: Oscar Castro-Neves

Source: Michael Ricci

All About Jazz is celebrating Oscar Castro-Neves' birthday today!

Few musicians in the world today can boast a career that reflects a lifetime of accomplishments as diverse, rich and acclaimed as those Oscar Castro-Neves has achieved. Renowned as a composer and arranger for his sophisticated harmonic concepts and the exquisite texture and color of his orchestrations, he is equally well known for his distinctive guitar style and as an accomplished record producer who has worked with dozens of major artists ...

Birthday

Jazz Musician of the Day: Oscar Castro-Neves

Jazz Musician of the Day: Oscar Castro-Neves

Source: Michael Ricci

All About Jazz is celebrating Oscar Castro-Neves' birthday today!

Few musicians in the world today can boast a career that reflects a lifetime of accomplishments as diverse, rich and acclaimed as those Oscar Castro-Neves has achieved. Renowned as a composer and arranger for his sophisticated harmonic concepts and the exquisite texture and color of his orchestrations, he is equally well known for his distinctive guitar style and as an accomplished record producer who has worked with dozens of major artists ...

Birthday

Jazz Musician of the Day: Oscar Castro-Neves

Jazz Musician of the Day: Oscar Castro-Neves

Source: Michael Ricci

All About Jazz is celebrating Oscar Castro-Neves' birthday today!

Few musicians in the world today can boast a career that reflects a lifetime of accomplishments as diverse, rich and acclaimed as those Oscar Castro-Neves has achieved. Renowned as a composer and arranger for his sophisticated harmonic concepts and the exquisite texture and color of his orchestrations, he is equally well known for his distinctive guitar style and as an accomplished record producer who has worked with dozens of major artists ...

Birthday

Jazz Musician of the Day: Oscar Castro-Neves

Jazz Musician of the Day: Oscar Castro-Neves

Source: Michael Ricci

All About Jazz is celebrating Oscar Castro-Neves' birthday today!

Few musicians in the world today can boast a career that reflects a lifetime of accomplishments as diverse, rich and acclaimed as those Oscar Castro-Neves has achieved. Renowned as a composer and arranger for his sophisticated harmonic concepts and the exquisite texture and color of his orchestrations, he is equally well known for his distinctive guitar style and as an accomplished record producer who has worked with dozens of major artists ...

Birthday

Jazz Musician of the Day: Oscar Castro-Neves

Jazz Musician of the Day: Oscar Castro-Neves

Source: Michael Ricci


Birthday

Jazz Musician of the Day: Oscar Castro-Neves

Jazz Musician of the Day: Oscar Castro-Neves

Source: Michael Ricci


1

Birthday

Jazz Musician of the Day: Oscar Castro-Neves

Jazz Musician of the Day: Oscar Castro-Neves

Source: Michael Ricci


Birthday

Jazz Musician of the Day: Oscar Castro-Neves

Jazz Musician of the Day: Oscar Castro-Neves

Source: Michael Ricci


1

Birthday

Jazz Musician of the Day: Oscar Castro-Neves

Jazz Musician of the Day: Oscar Castro-Neves

Source: Michael Ricci


Obituary

Oscar Castro-Neves dies at 73; bossa nova guitarist and orchestrator

Oscar Castro-Neves dies at 73; bossa nova guitarist and orchestrator

Source: Michael Ricci

Famous from age 16, Oscar Castro-Neves toured with Dizzy Gillespie and Stan Getz and orchestrated music for films and TV. Oscar Castro-Neves, a Brazil-born guitarist who helped to create the cool, sensuous rhythms of bossa nova and orchestrated music for movies including “L.A. Story" and “Dirty Rotten Scoundrels," has died. He was 73. Castro-Neves had cancer and died Friday in Los Angeles, his wife, Lorraine Castro-Neves, said. Castro-Neves, who was noted for both his virtuosity and his impish sense of ...

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Music

Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson

Bossa Nova at...

Liberation Hall
2023

buy

Quietude

Candid Records
2022

buy

All One

Mack Avenue Records
2006

buy

Varig Collection:...

Perfect Pitch
1994

buy

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