Nonato Luiz

Nonato Luiz in 2010.

Nonato Luiz is a Brazilian guitarist, born in Lavras da Mangabeira, Ceará, in northeastern Brazil.[1]

Biography

Nonato Luiz began playing music at the age of four. At 15 Luiz was second violin of the Fortaleza Symphony Orchestra. During that time, juggling popular and classical music, Luiz opted for the guitar as his primary instrument. In 1975, already a composer, Nonato Luiz won first prize in a guitar contest at TV Tupi in São Paulo. His first album, Terra, included guest appearances by Fagner and João Donato. He also recorded an album with the flamenco guitarist Pedro Soler. The same year, he recorded a tribute to Pablo Picasso with Mercedes Sosa, Paco de Lucia, and Rafael Alberti.

In 1984, Luiz recorded in Johannesburg, South Africa, for the SABC label. The following year, he performed in Italy, France, and Austria, playing for the first time at the fabled Mozarteum in Salzburg. During this period he recorded the album Guitarra Brasileira while in Paris, consisting of his own compositions. Upon his return to Brazil, Luiz participated in discs and shows with Chico Buarque, Fagner, Nara Leão, and Luiz Gonzaga.

In 1988, Nonato Luiz released the album "Fé Cega", tribute to the great composer Milton Nascimento. This work was very important in his career. In 1991, the album gained more tracks and was released on CD by Caju Music, with the new title "Milton Nascimento by Nonato Luiz".

In 1989 Luiz returned to Europe, where performances in Austria, Italy, France, and Germany confirmed his rising international prestige. The following year, he recorded the album Gosto de Brasil (Caju Music) with percussionist Djalma Corrêa and bassist Luiz Alves.

1991 was a busy year, during which Luiz embarked on another European tour in Austria, Switzerland, Italy, and Germany, and recorded the disc Retrato do Brasil, which received worldwide distribution by Otto. He also had shows at Sala Cecília Meireles in Rio de Janeiro, a tour through Brazil with Fagner, and a solo tour through northern and northeastern Brazil. In addition, he released the album Carioca with pianist Túlio Mourão and gave a highly acclaimed performance at the Free Jazz Festival.

In 1992, following his customary European tour, Nonato Luiz gave a series of UNESCO-sponsored concerts at the Salle de Cinéma in Paris, where he also recorded "Terra à Vista," which was the official theme of ECO 92. The next year, Nonato toured five European countries: Germany, Austria, Italy, Switzerland, and Spain.

In 1994, paying tribute to the greatest icon of northeastern Brazilian music, Nonato Luiz released the CD Nonato Luiz Interpreta Luiz Gonzaga.

In 1996, he released one of the most acclaimed albums of his career, Violão em Serenata (CID). Continuing his work of preservation and study of Brazilian rhythms, Nonato Luiz released in 1999 a disc dedicated to choro. Titled "Choro da Madeira" (CPC-UMES), it showcases Nonato's virtuosity on the guitar.

In 2000, the artist revealed a new facet of his musical spectrum, releasing a tribute to the greatest rock group of all times: Nonato Luiz Toca the Beatles (Kuarup).

In May 2005, he was a visiting artist at the University of Florida's Brazilian Music Institute, leading a workshop and giving a concert. The same year he also represented Brazil at the Brazilian Year in France. The following year he was a panelist and performer at the Second National Guitar Festival in Teresina, capital Piauí in northeastern Brazil.

Today, Nonato Luiz is one of the most respected Brazilian instrumentalists on the European circuit. His compositions have been recorded by guitarists in Brazil, Czech Republic, United States, England, China, Argentina, Germany, Austria, and France, among others. A score book of his compositions, titled "Suíte Sexta em Ré Para Guitarrra," was published by Henry Lemoine in Paris. Nonato Luiz is an alchemist of sound, mixing and distilling disparate popular and classical elements - from forró to jazz, from bossa nova to blues, from baião to Baroque - while remaining true to his northeastern roots.

In 2006, Nonato Luiz was the recipient of the Abolition Medal by the then governor of the State of Ceará, Lúcio Alcântara.

In September 2007, Nonato Luiz represented Brazil in two festivals of guitar virtuosos, held in France and South Korea.

In February 2008, he appeared at the 9th Festival of Jazz & Blues in Guaramiranga, Ceará. He also participated as performer, jury member, and panelist at the 4th National Guitar Festival in Piauí. In April, performed at Oval Europark, in Salzburg, Austria.

Discography

References

  1. ↑ Allmusic

External links