Rafael Baptista Rabello (October 31, 1962 – April 27, 1995) was a virtuoso Brazilian guitarist and composer. During the 1980s and 1990s, he was considered one of the best acoustic guitar players in the world and played with many famous artists, such as
Tom Jobim
Tom or TOM may refer to:
* Tom (given name), a diminutive of Thomas or Tomás or an independent Aramaic given name (and a list of people with the name)
Characters
* Tom Anderson, a character in '' Beavis and Butt-Head''
* Tom Beck, a character ...
,
Ney Matogrosso
Ney de Souza Pereira (born 1 August 1941), known professionally as Ney Matogrosso (), is a Brazilian singer who is distinguished for his uncommon countertenor voice. He was ranked by ''Rolling Stone'' as the third greatest Latin American singer ...
,
Paulo Moura
Paulo Moura (15 July 1932 – 12 July 2010) was a Brazilian clarinetist and saxophonist.
Born in São José do Rio Preto, where his father was the maestro of a marching band and encouraged his son to train as a tailor, Paulo instead studied in ...
, and
Paco de Lucia
Paco is a Spanish nickname for Francisco. According to folk etymology, the nickname has its origins in Saint Francis of Assisi, who was the father of the Franciscan order; his name was written in Latin by the order as ''Pater Communitatis'' (fat ...
.
Biography
Early years
Raphael Rabello was born in
Petrópolis
Petrópolis (; ), also known as The Imperial City, is a municipality in the Southeast Region of Brazil. It is located in the state of Rio de Janeiro, northeast of the city of Rio de Janeiro. According to the 2010 National Brazilian Census, Petr ...
,
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 ...
,
Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
. He was the youngest child of his family, which included many musicians. His sister
Luciana was a well-known
cavaquinho
The cavaquinho (pronounced in Portuguese) is a small Portuguese string instrument in the European guitar family, with four wires or gut strings.
More broadly, ''cavaquinho'' is the name of a four-stringed subdivision of the lute family of ins ...
player and his other sister,
Amélia, became a singer. His first guitar teacher was an older brother, Ruy Fabiano, when Raphael Rabello was seven years old. However, the biggest influence on Rabello starting his music studies was his grandfather, José de Queiroz Baptista, who was a
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 ...
guitar player.
He studied music theory with Maria Alice Salles, who also taught his brothers and sisters. In the 1970s, he took guitar lessons with Jaime Florence, the famous Meira, who had also taught
Baden Powell Baden-Powell () is a surname. Notable people with the surname include:
Baden-Powell
* The Rev. Prof. Baden Powell (mathematician) (1796–1860), mathematician, clergyman and liberal theologian.
By his first marriage father of:
:* Baden Henry Powell ...
in the 1940s. In the same period, he studied harmony with Ian Guest.
Influenced by
Dino 7 Cordas Horondino José da Silva (5 May 1918, Rio de Janeiro – 26 May 2006, Rio de Janeiro), best known as Dino Sete Cordas ("Seven-String Dino"), was a Brazilian guitar player, playing primarily in the choro and samba styles. He is considered to be o ...
, Rabello eventually switched to the
Brazilian seven-string guitar
The seven-string guitar adds one additional string to the more common six-string guitar, commonly used to extend the bass range (usually a low B) or also to extend the treble range.
The additional string is added in one of two different ways: by ...
and started playing professionally when he was a teenager.
Early musical career
His first recording as a sideman was at age 14 on a recording of
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 ...
music by classical guitarist
Turibio Santos
Turibio Soares Santos (born March 7, 1943) is a Brazilian classical guitarist, musicologist, and composer, who established himself as a performer with a wide repertoire of pieces by Heitor Villa-Lobos, Ernesto Nazareth, Francisco Mignone, and ...
. In this period, he took lessons from guitarist Dino 7 Cordas (Dino 7 strings), with whom he recorded an LP in 1991.
In 1976, he founded the group Os Carioquinhas, with his sister Luciana Rabello (cavaquinho), Paulo Alves (mandolin), Téo (acoustic guitar) and Mario Florêncio (tambourine). The band became famous and played with many other choro groups, such as
Época de Ouro
Epoca may refer to:
Media
* ''Epoca'' (magazine), Italian news magazine published, 1950–1997
* ''Época'' (Brazilian magazine), Brazilian news magazine established in 1998
* ''Época'' (Spanish magazine), Spanish weekly news magazine, 1985– ...
and
Quinteto Villa-Lobos. They also recorded one album in 1977.
In 1979, Rabello became a member of Camerata Carioca. This was the period in which he met
Radamés Gnattali
Radamés Gnattali (27 January 1906 – 3 February 1988) was a Brazilian composer of both classical and popular music, as well as a conductor, orchestrator, and arranger.
Biography
Radamés Gnattali was born in Porto Alegre (the capital of Rio ...
, who became a partner of Rabello.
They recorded one disc together in 1984.
Three years later, Rabello also recorded a tribute album to Gnattali.
Between 1980 and 1981, Rabello became a studio musician and started recording with many singers and instrumentalists. In this same period, he started his career as an arranger, working for the group Galo Preto.
Later career and success
His most productive years spanned 1982 to 1995. He was considered by many to be one of the finest guitarists of his generation. He played in many different styles, but specialized in
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 ...
. His first album was released in 1982 and, influenced by Dino 7 Cordas, Rabello adopted the name 'Raphael 7 Cordas', which was also the name of his first record. However, he did not use this nickname for very long.
Throughout his career, Rabello recorded 16 albums, some of them in collaboration with other artists, such as Dino 7 Cordas,
Elizeth Cardoso and
Paulo Moura
Paulo Moura (15 July 1932 – 12 July 2010) was a Brazilian clarinetist and saxophonist.
Born in São José do Rio Preto, where his father was the maestro of a marching band and encouraged his son to train as a tailor, Paulo instead studied in ...
. He also participated on about 600 albums, recording in Brazil and abroad.
He participated in concerts and recordings with a number of well-known Brazilian musicians, such as
Tom Jobim
Tom or TOM may refer to:
* Tom (given name), a diminutive of Thomas or Tomás or an independent Aramaic given name (and a list of people with the name)
Characters
* Tom Anderson, a character in '' Beavis and Butt-Head''
* Tom Beck, a character ...
,
Ney Matogrosso
Ney de Souza Pereira (born 1 August 1941), known professionally as Ney Matogrosso (), is a Brazilian singer who is distinguished for his uncommon countertenor voice. He was ranked by ''Rolling Stone'' as the third greatest Latin American singer ...
,
Jaques Morelenbaum
Jaques Morelenbaum (() born 18 May 1954) is a Brazilian instrumentalist, arranger, conductor, composer and music producer.
Morelenbaum was born in Rio de Janeiro, the son of conductor Henrique Morelenbaum and piano teacher Sarah Morelenbaum. Hi ...
and Paulo Moura, as well as international players, such as
Paco de Lucia
Paco is a Spanish nickname for Francisco. According to folk etymology, the nickname has its origins in Saint Francis of Assisi, who was the father of the Franciscan order; his name was written in Latin by the order as ''Pater Communitatis'' (fat ...
.
Rabello also became famous abroad. He performed shows in Italy, Switzerland, Argentina, Chile, Mexico, Portugal, France, Canada and the United States. In 1994, he moved to the U.S. and met
Laurindo Almeida
Laurindo Almeida (September 2, 1917 – July 26, 1995) was a Brazilian guitarist and composer in classical, jazz, and Latin music. He and Bud Shank were pioneers in the creation of bossa nova. Almeida was the first guitarist to receive Gra ...
, who helped to spread his work around the world. There, he also gave guitar lessons in Los Angeles. At the end of the same year, he returned to Brazil to participate in the project "Orgulho do Brasil", which had the goal of recording songs composed by the most notable artists of that country. In this project, he recorded a tribute to
Capiba, which was released in 2002.
Final years
In 1989, Rabello was involved in a car accident and suffered multiple fractures in his right arm. After a delicate surgery, he recovered and continued to play months later. However, during the surgery, he contracted HIV in a blood transfusion. Hopeless, he became addicted to alcohol and drugs. On April 27, 1995, Rafael Rabello died of
cardiac dysrhythmia
Arrhythmias, also known as cardiac arrhythmias, heart arrhythmias, or dysrhythmias, are irregularities in the heartbeat, including when it is too fast or too slow. A resting heart rate that is too fast – above 100 beats per minute in adults ...
followed by
respiratory arrest
Respiratory arrest is a sickness caused by apnea (cessation of breathing) or respiratory dysfunction severe enough it will not sustain the body (such as agonal breathing). Prolonged apnea refers to a patient who has stopped breathing for a long pe ...
.
Legacy
Rabello has had two full-length CDs released posthumously and a choro school was named after him.
His latest posthumous release is the project he was working on when he died: a tribute to Lourenço da Fonseca Barbosa, known as Capiba (1904–1997). He was one of the arrangers, is credited as producer, played a lot of the guitar and even sang on one of the tracks. The guest-singer list is a veritable "who's who" of Brazilian singers:
Chico Buarque
Francisco Buarque de Hollanda (born 19 June 1944), popularly known simply as Chico Buarque, is a Brazilian singer-songwriter, guitarist, composer, playwright, writer, and poet. He is best known for his music, which often includes social, economic, ...
,
Paulinho da Viola
Paulinho da Viola (born Paulo César Batista de Faria on 12 November 1942) () is a Brazilian '' sambista'', singer-songwriter, guitar, cavaquinho and mandolin player, known for his sophisticated harmonies and soft, gentle singing voice.
Biograp ...
,
Gal Costa
Gal Maria da Graça Costa Penna Burgos (born Maria da Graça Costa Penna Burgos; 26 September 1945 – 9 November 2022), known professionally as Gal Costa (), was a Brazilian singer of popular music. She was one of the main figures of the tro ...
,
Caetano Veloso
Caetano Emanuel Viana Teles Veloso (; born 7 August 1942) is a Brazilian composer, singer, guitarist, writer, and political activist. Veloso first became known for his participation in the Brazilian musical movement Tropicalismo, which encomp ...
,
Maria Bethânia
Maria Bethânia Viana Teles Veloso (; born 18 June 1946) is a Brazilian singer and songwriter. Born in Santo Amaro, Bahia, she started her career in Rio de Janeiro in 1964 with the show "Opinião" ("Opinion"). Due to its popularity, with perform ...
,
Alceu Valença
Alceu Valença (born July 1, 1946) is a Brazilian singer, musician and songwriter.
Alceu Valenca was born in countryside Pernambuco, Northeast Brazil. He is considered the most successful artist in achieving an aesthetic balance between traditi ...
,
João Bosco
João Bosco de Freitas Mucci, known professionally as João Bosco () is a Brazilian singer-songwriter and guitarist. In the 1970s he established his reputation in ''música popular Brasileira'' (Portuguese: "Brazilian pop music") with lyricist ...
, and
Ney Matogrosso
Ney de Souza Pereira (born 1 August 1941), known professionally as Ney Matogrosso (), is a Brazilian singer who is distinguished for his uncommon countertenor voice. He was ranked by ''Rolling Stone'' as the third greatest Latin American singer ...
.
Discography
*1982: ''Rafael Sete Cordas'' (
Polygram
PolyGram N.V. was a multinational entertainment company and major music record label formerly based in the Netherlands. It was founded in 1962 as the Grammophon-Philips Group by Dutch corporation Philips and German corporation Siemens, to be ...
)
*1984: ''Tributo a Garoto'' (
Barclay), with
Radamés Gnattali
Radamés Gnattali (27 January 1906 – 3 February 1988) was a Brazilian composer of both classical and popular music, as well as a conductor, orchestrator, and arranger.
Biography
Radamés Gnattali was born in Porto Alegre (the capital of Rio ...
*1987: ''Interpreta Radamés Gnattali'' (Visom)
*1988: ''Rafael Rabello'' (Visom)
*1990: ''A flor da pele'' (Polygram/Philips), with
Ney Matogrosso
Ney de Souza Pereira (born 1 August 1941), known professionally as Ney Matogrosso (), is a Brazilian singer who is distinguished for his uncommon countertenor voice. He was ranked by ''Rolling Stone'' as the third greatest Latin American singer ...
*1991: ''Todo sentimento'' (Columbia), with
Elizeth Cardoso
*1991: ''Raphael Rabello & Dino 7 Cordas'' (Caju Music), with
Dino 7 Cordas Horondino José da Silva (5 May 1918, Rio de Janeiro – 26 May 2006, Rio de Janeiro), best known as Dino Sete Cordas ("Seven-String Dino"), was a Brazilian guitar player, playing primarily in the choro and samba styles. He is considered to be o ...
*1992: ''Dois irmãos'' (Caju Music), with
Paulo Moura
Paulo Moura (15 July 1932 – 12 July 2010) was a Brazilian clarinetist and saxophonist.
Born in São José do Rio Preto, where his father was the maestro of a marching band and encouraged his son to train as a tailor, Paulo instead studied in ...
*1992: ''Todos os tons'' (RCA)
*1992: ''Shades of Rio'' (
Chesky), with
Romero Lubambo
Romero Lubambo (born 1955) is a Brazilian jazz guitarist.
Career
He was born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. He grew up with American jazz and classical music in the house because his uncle played guitar, lived next door, and visited frequently. Luba ...
*1993: ''Delicatesse'' (RCA), with
Déo Rian
Déo Cesário Botelho or Déo Rian (born February 26, 1944, in Rio de Janeiro) is a Brazilian musician, composer and choro bandolinist.
He is a student of Jacob do Bandolim.Tamara Elena Livingston-Isenhour, Thomas George Caracas Garcia. 2005. C ...
*1994: ''
Relendo Dilermando Reis
''Relendo Dilermando Reis'' is a 1994 album recorded by the Brazilian musician Raphael Rabello. Produced by J. C. Botezelli, also known as Pelão, the album won Prêmio Sharp for Best Soloist in the same year. The disc presents many choro and waltz ...
'' (RGE)
*1997: ''Em concerto'' (Spotlight), with
Armandinho
*2001: ''Todas as canções'' (Acari), with Amélia Rabello
*2002: ''Mestre Capiba por Raphael Rabello e Convidados'' (Acari)
*2005: ''Cry my guitar'' (GSP)
References
External links
*
Raphael Rabello at Allmusic
Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino, better known as Raphael (; or ; March 28 or April 6, 1483April 6, 1520), was an Italian painter and architect of the High Renaissance. His work is admired for its clarity of form, ease of composition, and visual ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rabello, Rafael
1962 births
1995 deaths
Brazilian guitarists
Brazilian male guitarists
People from Petrópolis
Seven-string guitarists
20th-century guitarists
20th-century male musicians