Guinga (''Carlos Althier de Souza Lemos Escobar''; born June 10, 1950) is a Brazilian

guitarist A guitarist (or a guitar player) is a person who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of guitar family instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselve ...

and composer born in Madureira, a working-class suburb of

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of the same name, Brazil's List of Brazilian states by population, third-most populous state, and the List of largest citi ...

. As a child, he was nicknamed "

Gringo ''Gringo'' (, , ) (masculine) (or ''gringa'' (feminine)) is a term in Spanish and Portuguese for a foreigner, usually an English-speaking Anglo-American. There are differences in meaning depending on region and country. In Latin America, it is ...

", 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 TV Globo (, "Globe TV", or simply Globo), formerly known as Rede Globo, is a Brazilian free-to-air television network, launched by media proprietor Roberto Marinho on 26 April 1965. It is owned by media conglomerate Grupo Globo. The TV statio ...

'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 Elizabeth Santos Leal de Carvalho (May 5, 1946 – April 30, 2019), known professionally as Beth Carvalho, was a Brazilian samba singer, guitarist, cavaquinist and composer. Biography Carvalho was raised in a middle-class family in Rio de J ...

and

João Nogueira João Nogueira (November 12, 1941 – June 5, 2000) was a Brazilian singer and composer, famous for his samba compositions. He was born in Rio de Janeiro. His first composition, "Espera ó Nega" was recorded in 1968, however it was in 1970 tha ...

and recorded with samba legends

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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 Elis Regina Carvalho Costa (March 17, 1945 – January 19, 2002), known professionally as Elis Regina (), was a Brazilian singer of MPB and jazz music. She is also the mother of the singers Maria Rita and Pedro Mariano. She became nationall ...

Nelson Gonçalves Nelson Gonçalves (June 21, 1919 – April 18, 1998) was a Brazilian singer and songwriter. Born Antônio Gonçalves Sobral in Santana do Livramento, Rio Grande do Sul, he was raised in São Paulo. As a young man, he worked at a variety of meni ...

Miúcha Heloísa Maria Buarque de Hollanda (30 November 1937 – 27 December 2018), whose artistic name was Miúcha, was a Brazilian singer and composer. Life and career Heloisa Maria Buarque de Hollanda was born in Rio de Janeiro. She was the daughter ...

, Clara Nunes, and

Michel Legrand Michel Jean Legrand (; 24 February 1932 – 26 January 2019) was a French musical composer, arranger, conductor, and jazz pianist. Legrand was a prolific composer, having written over 200 film and television scores, in addition to many so ...

. 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 Ivan Guimarães Lins (born June 16, 1945) is a Latin Grammy-winning Brazilian musician. He has been an active performer and songwriter of Brazilian popular music (MPB) and jazz for over thirty years. His first hit, "Madalena", was recorded by ...

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 known for his songwriting and his skill on the guitar. He is known for drawing on many musical genres, including

choro ''Choro'' (, "cry" or "lament"), also popularly called ''chorinho'' ("little cry" or "little lament"), is an instrumental Brazilian popular music genre which originated in 19th century Rio de Janeiro. Despite its name, the music often has a ...

samba Samba (), also known as samba urbano carioca (''urban Carioca samba'') or simply samba carioca (''Carioca samba''), is a Brazilian music genre that originated in the Afro-Brazilian communities of Rio de Janeiro in the early 20th century. Havi ...

, baião,

frevo Frevo is a dance and musical style originating from Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil, traditionally associated with Brazilian Carnival. The word ''frevo'' is said to come from ''frever'', a variant of the Portuguese word ''ferver'' (to boil). It is s ...

, modinha,

waltz The waltz ( ), meaning "to roll or revolve") is a ballroom and folk dance, normally in triple ( time), performed primarily in closed position. History There are many references to a sliding or gliding dance that would evolve into the w ...

, foxtrot, blues, classical music, and

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a majo ...

. His compositions are often harmonically and rhythmically complex, while being melodic.

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 Gabriele Mirabassi is an Italian jazz clarinetist. Career He was born in Perugia and is a graduate of the Morlacchi Conservatory. His teacher told him avoid playing jazz because it would damage his technique, so at home he learned jazz on t ...

(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 Francis Hime (Rio de Janeiro, August 31, 1939) is a Brazilian composer, arranger, pianist and singer. He is the composer of the jazz standard ''Minha / All Mine'', recorded, among others, by Bill Evans, Tony Bennett and Eliane Elias Eliane Eli ...

(2013) Biscoito Fino ;Contributing artist * ''Bolero de Satá ( Nina Ripe & Guinga) - Nina Ripe: Apaixonada'' (2011) (Nina Ripe Music) * '' The Rough Guide to the Music of Brazil'' (1998) (

World Music Network World Music Network is a UK-based record label specializing in world music. The World Music Network website features news, reviews, live music listings, and guide sections on world music. It also features an online "Battle of the Bands" compet ...

)

References

External links

Guinga's Website

including all his tunes recorded by others

an article about the composer's life and work by Daniella Thompson {{Authority control Música Popular Brasileira guitarists Brazilian composers Brazilian male guitarists 1950 births Living people Musicians from Rio de Janeiro (city)