Laurindo Almeida
Encyclopedia
Laurindo Almeida was a Brazil
ian virtuoso guitarist
and composer who made many recordings of enduring impact in classical, jazz and Latin genres. He is widely credited, with fellow artist Bud Shank
, for creating the fusion of Latin and jazz which came to be known as the “bossa nova
.” Almeida was the first artist to receive Grammy Award
s for both classical and jazz performances. His discography encompasses more than a hundred recordings over five decades.
.
Born into a musical family, Almeida was a self-taught guitarist. During his teenage years, Almeida moved to Sao Paolo, where he worked as a radio artist, staff arranger and nightclub performer. At the age of 19, he worked his way to Europe playing guitar in a cruise ship orchestra. In Paris, he attended a performance at the Hot Club by Stephane Grappelli
and famed guitarist Django Reinhardt
, who became a lifelong artistic inspiration.
Returning to Brazil, Almeida continued composing and performing. He became known for playing both classical Spanish and popular guitar. He moved to the United States in 1947; a trip financed when one of his compositions, a song known as “Johnny Peddler” became a hit recorded by the Andrews Sisters
. In Los Angeles, Almeida immediately went to work in film studio orchestras.
band in the late 1940s during the height of its success. According to author Michael Sparke, Almeida and his fellow Kenton bandmember drummer Jack Costanzo
“endowed the music of Progressive Jazz with a persuasive Latin flavor, and the music is enriched by their presence.” Famed Kenton arranger Pete Rugolo
composed "Lament" specifically for Almeida’s cool, quiet sound, and Almeida’s own composition “Amazonia” was also featured by the Kenton orchestra. Almeida stayed with Kenton until 1952.
Almeida’s recording career enjoyed auspicious early success with the 1953 recordings now called Brazilliance No. 1 and No. 2 with fellow Kenton alumnus Bud Shank
, bassist Harry Babasin
, and drummer Roy Harte on the World Pacific label (originally entitled “The Laurindo Almeida Quartet featuring Bud Shank”). Widely regarded as "landmark" recordings, Almeida and Shank’s combination of Brazilian and jazz rhythms (which Almeida labeled "samba-jazz"-) presaged the fusion of Latin and jazz that a few years later would become popular world-wide as the “bossa nova”. Notable jazz critic Leonard Feather among others credited Almeida and Shank with the creation of the bossa nova sound.
However, other observers note that the beat, harmonic stamp, and economy of expression were different than the bossa nova, giving Almeida and Shank's recording "...a different mood and sound...certainly valuable in its own right."
Almeida’s classical solo recording career on Capitol Records
began in 1954 with The Guitar Music of Spain. Almeida made a series of highly successful classical recordings produced by Robert E. Myers
. Among Almeida’s notable classical recordings is an album widely considered to be the first classical crossover album, the 1958 Grammy winner Duets with Spanish Guitar
with mezzo soprano Salli Terri
and flutist Martin Ruderman. In this recording, Almeida arranges standard classical and folk repertoire through the prism of several Latin musical forms, including the modenha, charo, maracatu and boi bumba. The result, according to Hi-Fi and Music Review was "…a prize winner in my collection. Laurindo Almeida’s guitar playing captures the keen poignancy and rhythmic élan of Brazilian music with superb assurance and taste…".. The recording was nominated for two Grammy Awards and won for Best Classical Engineering for Sherwood Hall III at the first Grammy Awards ceremony.
Of Almeida’s five career Grammys, four were awarded in classical categories (listed below). His classical recording discography also includes the debut recordings of two major guitar works, Heitor Villa-Lobos
' Guitar Concerto and Radamés Gnattali
’s Concerto de Copacabana.
In 1964, Almeida again expanded his recording repertoire by joining forces with the Modern Jazz Quartet
on Collaboration (Atlantic Records
), which combined classical with jazz, called “chamber jazz.” Almeida also toured with the MJQ, both in the 1960s and again in the 1990s.
). Almeida made a cameo appearance on a 1959 episode of Peter Gunn
titled "Skin Deep". His performing credits included major motions pictures such as Good-bye, My Lady
(1956), Funny Girl
(1968), and The Godfather
(1972). He composed the complete film scores for ten motion pictures and portions for hundreds of others, including Charles and Ray Eames
’s 1957 film Day of the Dead. His final film work was underscoring and performing for Clint Eastwood
’s Unforgiven
(1992). Some articles report Almeida won at least one Oscar award for film composition; however, while he was involved in films that were nominated, he did not receive an Oscar for his film work.
(later Shelly Manne
and then Jeff Hamilton
). From 1974-1982, the LA Four toured internationally and recorded a series of albums for Concord Jazz
, including The Four Scores!, an acclaimed live recording from the 1974 Concord Jazz Festival. In 1980, Almeida joined forces with Charlie Byrd on a series of highly regarded recordings, including Latin Odyssey, Brazilian Soul and Tango. He also recorded with Baden Powell
, Stan Getz
and Herbie Mann
, among others. His guitar trio, Guitarjam, with Larry Coryell
and Sharon Isbin
played Carnegie Hall in 1988. In the 1990s, Almeida toured again with the Modern Jazz Quartet. In 1992, Concord Records issued Outra Vez, an October, 1991 live recording with bassist Bob Magnusson and drummer Jim Plank; JazzTimes
wrote that Outra Vez was "...a testament to his enduring genius as a concert guitarist, composer and arranger".
In discussing Outra Vez, John Storm Roberts noted "...there was nothing retro about its tour de force, a phenomenal duet of Almeida performing Beethoven's 'Moonlight Sonata' while bassist Bob Magnusson played Thelonius Monk's 'Round Midnight.'"
In 1992, he was honored with the Latin American & Caribbean Cultural Society Award for "his illustrious career as a performer and composer and his dedicated promotion of the music of the Americas." Shortly before his death, the Brazilian government honored Almeida, awarding him the "Comendador da Ordem do Rio Branco." In 2010, Fanfare inducted his 1958 Duets with Spanish Guitar into its Classical Recording Hall of Fame.
In 2004 Almeida's guitar work from his version of The Lamp Is Low
was sampled
by the late Japanese DJ/Producer Nujabes
for the song Aruarian Dance which features on the soundtrack to the Anime
series Samurai Champloo
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
ian virtuoso guitarist
Classical guitar
The classical guitar is a 6-stringed plucked string instrument from the family of instruments called chordophones...
and composer who made many recordings of enduring impact in classical, jazz and Latin genres. He is widely credited, with fellow artist Bud Shank
Bud Shank
Clifford Everett "Bud" Shank, Jr. was an American alto saxophonist and flautist. He rose to prominence in the early 1950s playing lead alto and flute in Stan Kenton's Innovations in Modern Music Orchestra and throughout the decade worked in various small jazz combos. He spent the 1960s as a first...
, for creating the fusion of Latin and jazz which came to be known as the “bossa nova
Bossa nova
Bossa nova is a style of Brazilian music. Bossa nova acquired a large following in the 1960s, initially consisting of young musicians and college students...
.” Almeida was the first artist to receive Grammy Award
Grammy Award
A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
s for both classical and jazz performances. His discography encompasses more than a hundred recordings over five decades.
Background
Laurindo Jose de Araujo Almeida Nobrega Neto was born in the village of Prainha, Brazil near Santos in the state of São PaoloSão Paulo (state)
São Paulo is a state in Brazil. It is the major industrial and economic powerhouse of the Brazilian economy. Named after Saint Paul, São Paulo has the largest population, industrial complex, and economic production in the country. It is the richest state in Brazil...
.
Born into a musical family, Almeida was a self-taught guitarist. During his teenage years, Almeida moved to Sao Paolo, where he worked as a radio artist, staff arranger and nightclub performer. At the age of 19, he worked his way to Europe playing guitar in a cruise ship orchestra. In Paris, he attended a performance at the Hot Club by Stephane Grappelli
Stéphane Grappelli
Stéphane Grappelli was a French jazz violinist who founded the Quintette du Hot Club de France with guitarist Django Reinhardt in 1934. It was one of the first all-string jazz bands....
and famed guitarist Django Reinhardt
Django Reinhardt
Django Reinhardt was a pioneering virtuoso jazz guitarist and composer who invented an entirely new style of jazz guitar technique that has since become a living musical tradition within French gypsy culture...
, who became a lifelong artistic inspiration.
Returning to Brazil, Almeida continued composing and performing. He became known for playing both classical Spanish and popular guitar. He moved to the United States in 1947; a trip financed when one of his compositions, a song known as “Johnny Peddler” became a hit recorded by the Andrews Sisters
The Andrews Sisters
The Andrews Sisters were a highly successful close harmony singing group of the swing and boogie-woogie eras. The group consisted of three sisters: contralto LaVerne Sophia Andrews , soprano Maxene Angelyn Andrews , and mezzo-soprano Patricia Marie "Patty" Andrews...
. In Los Angeles, Almeida immediately went to work in film studio orchestras.
Early Career in the United States
Almeida was first introduced to the jazz public as a featured guitarist with the Stan KentonStan Kenton
Stanley Newcomb "Stan" Kenton was a pianist, composer, and arranger who led a highly innovative, influential, and often controversial American jazz orchestra. In later years he was widely active as an educator....
band in the late 1940s during the height of its success. According to author Michael Sparke, Almeida and his fellow Kenton bandmember drummer Jack Costanzo
Jack Costanzo
Jack Costanzo is an American percussionist.-Biography:A composer, conductor and drummer, Costanzo is best known as a bongo player, and is nicknamed "Mr. Bongo"...
“endowed the music of Progressive Jazz with a persuasive Latin flavor, and the music is enriched by their presence.” Famed Kenton arranger Pete Rugolo
Pete Rugolo
Pietro "Pete" Rugolo was an Italian-born jazz composer and arranger.-Life and career:Rugolo was born in San Piero Patti, Sicily, Italy. His family emigrated to the United States in 1920 and settled in Santa Rosa, California...
composed "Lament" specifically for Almeida’s cool, quiet sound, and Almeida’s own composition “Amazonia” was also featured by the Kenton orchestra. Almeida stayed with Kenton until 1952.
Almeida’s recording career enjoyed auspicious early success with the 1953 recordings now called Brazilliance No. 1 and No. 2 with fellow Kenton alumnus Bud Shank
Bud Shank
Clifford Everett "Bud" Shank, Jr. was an American alto saxophonist and flautist. He rose to prominence in the early 1950s playing lead alto and flute in Stan Kenton's Innovations in Modern Music Orchestra and throughout the decade worked in various small jazz combos. He spent the 1960s as a first...
, bassist Harry Babasin
Harry Babasin
Harry Babasin was an American jazz bassist. His nickname was "The Bear".-Biography:...
, and drummer Roy Harte on the World Pacific label (originally entitled “The Laurindo Almeida Quartet featuring Bud Shank”). Widely regarded as "landmark" recordings, Almeida and Shank’s combination of Brazilian and jazz rhythms (which Almeida labeled "samba-jazz"-) presaged the fusion of Latin and jazz that a few years later would become popular world-wide as the “bossa nova”. Notable jazz critic Leonard Feather among others credited Almeida and Shank with the creation of the bossa nova sound.
However, other observers note that the beat, harmonic stamp, and economy of expression were different than the bossa nova, giving Almeida and Shank's recording "...a different mood and sound...certainly valuable in its own right."
Almeida’s classical solo recording career on Capitol Records
Capitol Records
Capitol Records is a major United States based record label, formerly located in Los Angeles, but operating in New York City as part of Capitol Music Group. Its former headquarters building, the Capitol Tower, is a major landmark near the corner of Hollywood and Vine...
began in 1954 with The Guitar Music of Spain. Almeida made a series of highly successful classical recordings produced by Robert E. Myers
Robert E. Myers (record producer)
Robert E Myers aka Bob Myers was an American classical music record producer and artists & repertoire specialist. Myers spent most of his career at Capitol Records and the classical music division of its EMI parent company, Angel Records. During his early years with Capitol Records, Myers...
. Among Almeida’s notable classical recordings is an album widely considered to be the first classical crossover album, the 1958 Grammy winner Duets with Spanish Guitar
Duets with Spanish Guitar
Duets with Spanish Guitar is an album by the Brazilian guitarist Laurindo Almeida, with the singer Salli Terri and the flautist Martin Ruderman. It was originally released by Capitol Records in 1958....
with mezzo soprano Salli Terri
Salli Terri
Salli C. Terri was a singer, arranger, recording artist, and songwriter.-Biography:...
and flutist Martin Ruderman. In this recording, Almeida arranges standard classical and folk repertoire through the prism of several Latin musical forms, including the modenha, charo, maracatu and boi bumba. The result, according to Hi-Fi and Music Review was "…a prize winner in my collection. Laurindo Almeida’s guitar playing captures the keen poignancy and rhythmic élan of Brazilian music with superb assurance and taste…".. The recording was nominated for two Grammy Awards and won for Best Classical Engineering for Sherwood Hall III at the first Grammy Awards ceremony.
Of Almeida’s five career Grammys, four were awarded in classical categories (listed below). His classical recording discography also includes the debut recordings of two major guitar works, Heitor Villa-Lobos
Heitor Villa-Lobos
Heitor Villa-Lobos was a Brazilian composer, described as "the single most significant creative figure in 20th-century Brazilian art music". Villa-Lobos has become the best-known and most significant Latin American composer to date. He wrote numerous orchestral, chamber, instrumental and vocal works...
' Guitar Concerto and Radamés Gnattali
Radamés Gnattali
Radamés Gnattali , was a Brazilian classical composer, conductor, orchestrator, and arranger.Radamés Gnattali was born in Porto Alegre, the son of Alessandro Gnattali and Adélia Fossati. Both his father and mother were musicians...
’s Concerto de Copacabana.
In 1964, Almeida again expanded his recording repertoire by joining forces with the Modern Jazz Quartet
Modern Jazz Quartet
The Modern Jazz Quartet was established in 1952 by Milt Jackson , John Lewis , Percy Heath , and Kenny Clarke . Connie Kay replaced Clarke in 1955...
on Collaboration (Atlantic Records
Atlantic Records
Atlantic Records is an American record label best known for its many recordings of rhythm and blues, rock and roll, and jazz...
), which combined classical with jazz, called “chamber jazz.” Almeida also toured with the MJQ, both in the 1960s and again in the 1990s.
Film and Television
In addition to his recording achievements, Almeida continued his work with the film studios throughout his career, playing guitar, lute, mandolin and other instruments for more than 800 motion picture and television soundtracks (such as The High ChaparralThe High Chaparral
The High Chaparral is a Western-themed television series starring Leif Erickson and Cameron Mitchell which aired on NBC from 1967 to 1971. The show was created by David Dortort, who had previously created the hit Bonanza for the network...
). Almeida made a cameo appearance on a 1959 episode of Peter Gunn
Peter Gunn
Peter Gunn is an American private eye television series which aired on the NBC and later ABC television networks from 1958 to 1961. The show's creator was Blake Edwards...
titled "Skin Deep". His performing credits included major motions pictures such as Good-bye, My Lady
Good-bye, My Lady (film)
Good-bye, My Lady is a 1956 American film adaptation of the novel Good-bye, My Lady by James H. Street. The book had been inspired by Street's original story appearing in The Saturday Evening Post. As written, the story takes place in Mississippi, but was Hollywood changed to the state of Georgia,...
(1956), Funny Girl
Funny Girl (film)
Funny Girl is a 1968 romantic musical film directed by William Wyler. The screenplay by Isobel Lennart was adapted from her book for the stage musical of the same title...
(1968), and The Godfather
The Godfather
The Godfather is a 1972 American epic crime film directed by Francis Ford Coppola, based on the 1969 novel by Mario Puzo. With a screenplay by Puzo, Coppola and an uncredited Robert Towne, the film stars Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, James Caan, Robert Duvall, Sterling Hayden, John Marley, Richard...
(1972). He composed the complete film scores for ten motion pictures and portions for hundreds of others, including Charles and Ray Eames
Charles and Ray Eames
Charles Ormond Eames, Jr and Bernice Alexandra "Ray" Eames were American designers, who worked in and made major contributions to modern architecture and furniture. They also worked in the fields of industrial and graphic design, fine art and film.-Charles Eames:Charles Eames, Jr was born in...
’s 1957 film Day of the Dead. His final film work was underscoring and performing for Clint Eastwood
Clint Eastwood
Clinton "Clint" Eastwood, Jr. is an American film actor, director, producer, composer and politician. Eastwood first came to prominence as a supporting cast member in the TV series Rawhide...
’s Unforgiven
Unforgiven
Unforgiven is a 1992 American Western film produced and directed by Clint Eastwood with a screenplay written by David Webb Peoples. The film tells the story of William Munny, an aging outlaw and killer who takes on one more job years after he had hung up his guns and turned to farming...
(1992). Some articles report Almeida won at least one Oscar award for film composition; however, while he was involved in films that were nominated, he did not receive an Oscar for his film work.
Later Career
In the 1970s, Almeida reunited with Bud Shank, forming the LA Four with Ray Brown and Chuck FloresChuck Flores
Chuck Flores is an American jazz drummer. One of the relatively small number of musicians associated with West Coast jazz who are actually from the West Coast, Flores was born Charles Walter Flores in Orange, California, and grew up in Santa Ana...
(later Shelly Manne
Shelly Manne
Shelly Manne , born Sheldon Manne in New York City, was an American jazz drummer. Most frequently associated with West Coast jazz, he was known for his versatility and also played in a number of other styles, including Dixieland, swing, bebop, avant-garde jazz and fusion, as well as contributing...
and then Jeff Hamilton
Jeff Hamilton
Jeff Hamilton is the name of:*Jeff Hamilton , of the Los Angeles Dodgers*Jeff Hamilton , ice hockey player*Jeff Hamilton , jazz drummer who has played with Diana Krall...
). From 1974-1982, the LA Four toured internationally and recorded a series of albums for Concord Jazz
Concord Jazz
Concord Jazz is a subsidiary of Concord Records, owned by Concord Music Group.-Dozens of albums:*Charlie Byrd*Ruby Braff*Dave McKenna*Marian McPartland*Rosemary Clooney*Scott Hamilton*Tito Puente*George Shearing*Gene Harris*Mel Tormé*Monty Alexander...
, including The Four Scores!, an acclaimed live recording from the 1974 Concord Jazz Festival. In 1980, Almeida joined forces with Charlie Byrd on a series of highly regarded recordings, including Latin Odyssey, Brazilian Soul and Tango. He also recorded with Baden Powell
Baden Powell de Aquino
Baden Powell de Aquino usually known simply as Baden Powell, was one of the greatest Brazilian guitarists. He explored the instrument to its utmost limits, playing it in a distinctive, unique manner, incorporating virtuoso classical techniques together with popular harmony and swing...
, Stan Getz
Stan Getz
Stanley Getz was an American jazz saxophone player. Getz was known as "The Sound" because of his warm, lyrical tone, his prime influence being the wispy, mellow timbre of his idol, Lester Young. Coming to prominence in the late 1940s with Woody Herman's big band, Getz is described by critic Scott...
and Herbie Mann
Herbie Mann
Herbert Jay Solomon , better known as Herbie Mann, was a Jewish American jazz flutist and important early practitioner of world music...
, among others. His guitar trio, Guitarjam, with Larry Coryell
Larry Coryell
Larry Coryell is an American jazz fusion guitarist.-Biography:Coryell was born in Galveston, Texas. He graduated from Richland High School, in Richland, Washington, where he played in local bands The Jailers, The Rumblers, The Royals, and The Flames. He also played with The Checkers from nearby...
and Sharon Isbin
Sharon Isbin
Sharon Isbin is a widely-recorded American classical guitarist, recording artist, concertizer, and the founder of the Guitar Department at the Juilliard School.-Early life and education:...
played Carnegie Hall in 1988. In the 1990s, Almeida toured again with the Modern Jazz Quartet. In 1992, Concord Records issued Outra Vez, an October, 1991 live recording with bassist Bob Magnusson and drummer Jim Plank; JazzTimes
JazzTimes
JazzTimes is a magazine that dates back to Radio Free Jazz, a publication founded in 1970 by Ira Sabin when he was operating a record store in Washington, DC. It was originally a newsletter designed to update shoppers on the latest jazz releases and provide jazz radio programmers with a means of...
wrote that Outra Vez was "...a testament to his enduring genius as a concert guitarist, composer and arranger".
In discussing Outra Vez, John Storm Roberts noted "...there was nothing retro about its tour de force, a phenomenal duet of Almeida performing Beethoven's 'Moonlight Sonata' while bassist Bob Magnusson played Thelonius Monk's 'Round Midnight.'"
Honors and Awards
Laurindo Almeida was nominated for sixteen Grammys and received the award five times:- 1960 The Spanish Guitars of Laurindo Almeida Best Classical Performance Instrumental Soloist or Duo
- 1960 Conversations with the Guitar Best Classical Performance Vocal or Instrumental Chamber Music
- 1961 Discantus Best Contemporary Classical Composition (tied with Igor StravinskyIgor StravinskyIgor Fyodorovich Stravinsky ; 6 April 1971) was a Russian, later naturalized French, and then naturalized American composer, pianist, and conductor....
) - 1961 Reverie for Spanish Guitars Best Classical Performance Instrumental Soloist without Orchestra
- 1964 Guitar from Ipanema Best Instrumental Jazz Performance-Large Group
In 1992, he was honored with the Latin American & Caribbean Cultural Society Award for "his illustrious career as a performer and composer and his dedicated promotion of the music of the Americas." Shortly before his death, the Brazilian government honored Almeida, awarding him the "Comendador da Ordem do Rio Branco." In 2010, Fanfare inducted his 1958 Duets with Spanish Guitar into its Classical Recording Hall of Fame.
Death
Almeida was teaching, recording and performing until the week before his death on July 26, 1995 at age 77 in Los Angeles, California.Legacy
Laurindo Almeida's archives are housed at the US Library of Congress. He composed more than 1000 separate compositions, including 200 popular songs. In 1952 Almeida formed his own publishing company, Brazilliance, which has been influential in the dissemination of Latin American music. As described by authors Chris McGowan and Ricardo Pessanha, Laurindo Almeida was "...an artist known for his harmonic mastery, subtle dynamics, rich embellishments and adept improvisatory skills in a variety of idioms".In 2004 Almeida's guitar work from his version of The Lamp Is Low
The Lamp Is Low
"The Lamp Is Low" is a popular song of the 1930s. The music was written by Peter de Rose and Bert Shefter, adapted from Pavane pour une infante défunte, a piece by Maurice Ravel. The lyrics were written by Mitchell Parish....
was sampled
Sampling (music)
In music, sampling is the act of taking a portion, or sample, of one sound recording and reusing it as an instrument or a different sound recording of a song or piece. Sampling was originally developed by experimental musicians working with musique concrète and electroacoustic music, who physically...
by the late Japanese DJ/Producer Nujabes
Nujabes
was a Japanese hip hop producer and DJ who recorded under the name , the reverse spelling of his name in Japanese order. Nujabes was also owner of the Shibuya record stores, T Records and Guinness Records and founder of the independent label Hydeout Productions....
for the song Aruarian Dance which features on the soundtrack to the Anime
Anime
is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....
series Samurai Champloo
Samurai Champloo
is a Japanese anime series created and directed by Shinichirō Watanabe. It was broadcast in Japan from May 20, 2004 through March 19, 2005 on Fuji TV. Samurai Champloo has earned Watanabe a renowned title in the anime and Japanese television communities...
Albums
- Collaboration (with The Modern Jazz Quartet)
- Brazilliance (vol. 1)
- Brazilliance (vol. 2)
- Happy Cha Cha Cha
- Viva Bossa Nova!
- Ole! Bossa Nova
- Broadway Solo Guitar
- Guitar From Ipanema
- Stan Getz with Guest Artist Laurindo Almeida Polygram Int'l B0000046V9
- Laurindo Almeida's San Fernando Guitars: New Broadway-Hollywood Hits
- A Man and a Woman
- The Look of Love
- Conversations With the Guitar Capitol SP8532
- Reverie for Spanish Guitars Capitol P8571
- Acapulco '22
- Duets with Spanish GuitarDuets with Spanish GuitarDuets with Spanish Guitar is an album by the Brazilian guitarist Laurindo Almeida, with the singer Salli Terri and the flautist Martin Ruderman. It was originally released by Capitol Records in 1958....
(1958) - The Spanish Guitars of Laurindo Almeida
- For My True Love Capitol SP8461
- The Intimate Bach, Duets with the Spanish Guitar Vol.2 Capitol SP8582 (1962)
- Impressoes do Brasil Capitol P8381
- Sammy Davis, Jr. Sings and Laurindo Almeida PlaysSammy Davis, Jr. Sings and Laurindo Almeida PlaysSammy Davis, Jr. Sings and Laurindo Almeida Plays is a 1966 studio album by Sammy Davis, Jr., accompanied by guitarist Laurindo Almeida.-Track listing:# "Here's That Rainy Day" – 2:19...
(1966) - Danzas! Capitol P8467
- Contemporary Creations for Spanish Guitar Capitol P8447
- The New World of the Guitar Capitol 8392
- Guitar Music of Latin America Capitol P8321
- The Guitar Worlds of Laurindo Almeida Capitol SP8546
- Latin Guitar Dobre Records DR1000
- Jazz From A to B Unique Jazz UNQ1049
- Brazilian soul (duo with Charlie Byrd)1981-1983
- Latin Odyssey (with Charlie Byrd)1981-1983
- Bachground Blues & Greens (with Ray Brown) Century City 80102
- Classical Current Warner Bros.-Seven Arts WS 1803
- Masters of the Guitar, Disk 7 Murray Hill S-4194
- Music of the Brazilian Masters (with Charlie ByrdCharlie ByrdCharlie Lee Byrd was a famous and versatile American guitarist born in Suffolk, Virginia. His earliest and strongest musical influence was Django Reinhardt, the famous gypsy guitarist. Byrd became the American guitarist who best understood and played Brazilian music, especially the Bossa Nova genre...
and Carlos Barbosa-Lima) Concord Picante CCD-4389 (1989) - Virtuoso GuitarVirtuoso Guitar (Laurindo Almeida album)Virtuoso Guitar is an album released by Laurindo Almeida in 1977 on Crystal Clear CCS 8001. The album was recorded direct-to-disc, and uses the 45rpm format...
Crystal Clear CCS 8001 (1977)
Concert Film
- Tanya Maria: The Beat of Brazil with Special Guest Laurindo Almeida
- Laurindo Almeida - A Tribute to a Master
External links
- Laurindo Almeida biography and discography in portuguese
- Laurindo Almeida Blog with out of print downloads
- Some photos of LP covers (Oviatt Library Digital Collections)