Egberto Gismonti is world-renowned as a multi-instrumentalist
and composer. He was profoundly influenced by Brazilian master
Heitor Villa-Lobos, his works reflecting the musical diversity
of Brazil. From the Amazon Indians' batuque to the Carioca samba
and choro, through the Northeastern frevo, baião, and forró,
Gismonti captures the true essence of the Brazilian soul in a
way that is primitive, yet sophisticated, and reflects it
through his personal vision, elaborated by years of classic
training and literacy in a wealth of musical languages in which
jazz plays a significant role. From a musical family, in which
his grandfather and his uncle Edgar were bandleaders, he started
to take piano and theory classes at five. At that time, he also
started to learn the flute and the clarinet, eventually taking
the violão (acoustic guitar) in his teens. Following the piano
classical tradition because of his father, he embraced the
guitar to please his Italian mother, who was very fond of
serenatas. Trying to transpose