Guilherme Monteiro

 Guilherme Monteiro was born in Rio de Janeiro on July 20th 1971. He started playing music at the age of seven and to learn the guitar at the age of twelve in Sao Paulo. By the age of fifteen he was performing in jazz clubs and teaching privately in the city of Belo Horizonte, soon becaming one of the most respected musicians in that city. In Belo Horizonte Guilherme played with renowned musicians Toninho Horta and Tavinho Moura at the age of nineteen. These composers had an strong impact on his musicianship as they brought him closer to the roots of Minas Gerais through their modern and sophisticated approach.

In 1999 Guilherme was accepted to the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz Performance, a highly selective program that accepts eight students of each instrument after auditioning musicians from all over the world. At the Institute he studied privately with Clark Terry, with whom he also performed, and Jimmy Heath, who he performed with at the Kennedy Center and taught a clinic at the Duke Ellington High School, among others.

Living in New York City since 2000 Guilherme has played and recorded with some of the most repected musicians in town, such as Kenny Werner, two records with Ron Carter and Grady Tate for Harry Allen, Slide Hampton’s Jobim’s project with Claudio Roditi and Duduka da Fonseca, Lee Konitz, Randy Brecker, Joao Bosco and Johnny Alf. Last September Guilherme and Lionel Loueke performed in duo at the 3rd International Guitar Festival in Belo Horizonte, Brazil.

Throughout the years he has been living in New York, Guilherme has lent his unique sound to help shape the music of very different artists. He is featured on Kurt Elling's latest release, Night Moves alongside Christian Mc Bride and Bob Mintzer, Eliane Elias’ cd “Dreamer” (with Mike Manieri, Mark Johnson, Michael Brecker and Paulo Braga), Chiara Civello’s “Last Quarter Moon” (produced by Russ Titleman) and Luciana Souza's acclaimed release, “Duos II”, which won her a nomination for the Grammy of best Jazz vocalist of 2004.

He was a member of Lila Downs’ band, with whom he toured for four years and recorded two albums. The first one of them (One Blood) won a Latin Grammy for best Folk album. Guilherme is also a current member of Duduka Da Fonseca’s Quintet with which he recorded it’s latest release, Samba Jazz In Black And White and the band Forro in the Dark, with whom he is helping to redefine Brazilian music for this century. With Forro, Guilherme had the opportunity to collaborate with special guests David Byrne, Miho Hatori and Bebel Gilberto on the band’s latest album, Bonfires of Sao Joao.

Besides leading his own band, Guilherme is the co-leader of a jazz quartet featuring Jorge Continentino, hosting a weekly house gig at NYC's hot spot Nublu. He was also a member of Bebel Gilberto's band alongside his band mates from Forro In The Dark. Most recently, Guilherme was featured on Ron Carter’s latest release for Blue Note Records, Jazz & Bossa. A collection of Mr. Carter’s originals together with classics the legendary bassist recorded in the past.

Guilherme Monteiro: Air

Personnel:
Guilherme Monteiro, eletric and acoustic guitars.
Jerome Sabagh, tenor saxophone
Ben Street, bass
Jochen Rueckert, drums.
Jorge Continentino, pifano and alto flute.
Gilmar Gomes, congas, udu, acoustic guitar and bell shaker.
Yayo Serka, cajon and udu.
Alan Hampton, bass
Chiara Civello, voice
Lila Downs, voice

"Whenever I put on a record at home, I do it with the desire of altering the atmosphere of the room in a certain way. I look for a certain feeling the music gives me, and that’s how I choose the record I want to listen to. That is what I tried to accomplish with “Air”. Despite having such different tracks, to have one definite “color” trough out the album. It is poetic and free, although it has a definite structure. The common thread here is a general feeling of emotionally charged music and a “songlike” feel in all the tunes, whether they are instrumental or vocal."