Carlos Barbosa-Lima and Me...

The guitar is like a second body, always next to me. I have always loved its intimacy. You hold it close to your body; there's always contact. I can feel it vibrate through my body when I play. I caress it and it responds. Well, usually...
Carlos Barbosa-Lima

The young Brazilian artist, Carlos Barbosa-Lima, is gifted by the Goddess Of Music with warm sentiment for playing serious and beautiful compositions on his guitar. He learned quickly my technical advises and extends his right interpretations to classic and contemporary authors. I wish him the success he deserves.
Andres Segovia, Washington, D.C. 1969

***A Scarlatti Guitar Recital (1970) signed by Carlos***

I had approached a few companies, but some are very old fashioned, and it's difficult to do something new. But then I was in Washington D.C. and played with my good friend Charlie Byrd in his club, and it was very successful. Charlie heard some of my arrangements, things that were not yet published... then Charlie suggested that I should record for Concord, which is a very successful jazz label, because they had just started a classical branch. He introduced me to Carl Jefferson, the President, and he was very excited by what I was doing. Right away we made a nice agreement, and he actually asked me what I wanted to record. So I did the Jobim/Gershwin record, and it was so successful. As soon as it came out, it started being played on all kinds of radio stations, classical as well as jazz. You know, it's not a jazz record, I'm using jazz elements but I'm really elaborating on top of that. Although I'm very fond of jazz, what I'm doing is crossing those barriers.
Carlos Barbosa-Lima

***Plays The Music Of Antonio Carlos Jobim & George Gershwin (1982) signed by Carlos***

In the hands of Carlos Barbosa-Lima, the guitar becomes an orchestra. As if by enchantment, there burst forth all dimensions of musica - the bass, the medium register chords, the melody, the rhythm, the harmony, the counterpoint. Everything sounds right and clear. Everything falls in the right place, at the right level of importance. Gracefulness, daintiness, lightness, strength, thrust, power, independence, equilibrium. Everything is there, as if by wizardry, in the fingertips of this truly brujo of the guitar. And on top of all this, we are before an outstanding artist. At times, one hears as many as four lines, each with its own distinctive touch.
composer Antonio Carlos Jobim, liner notes, Carlos Barbosa-Lima Plays The Music Of Antonio Carlos Jobim & George Gershwin, 1983

Born in 1944 in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Carlos Barbosa-Lima was a child prodigy guitarist who made his classical concert debut in Sao Paulo in November, 1957. To be sure, he was a precocious and talented child. Carlos remembered his humble beginnings: "But my start on the guitar was more or less accidental... my father wanted to take a few lessons, just to entertain himself in his spare time, and he got a teacher near our house. He didn't really make much progress for six or eight months. (I was about six years old at that time.) Now, during those months, I became very fascinated by the guitar, and from what my parents said, I was picking up the lessons by watching my father's lessons. Then my father spotted me one day actually playing, doing what he was supposed to learn and couldn't really manage. So anyway, he gave up, but he said to the teacher, we are continuing with him because he is very much interested. So that was my start..."

***Plays The Entertainer And The Music Of Scott Joplin (1983) signed by Carlos***

Another pivotal moment in Carlos' development happened by chance three years later when Carlos was nine: "Then I was in a music store with my father in Sao Paulo and the Brazilian guitarist Luiz Bonfa was there. The owner of the store asked me to play for Bonfa, who was interested in hearing me. I was nervous and did all sorts of wrong things, but Bonfa was impressed and predicted that I could succeed in the world of music eventually, and he recommended that I go right away to study with Isaias Savio, who eventually became my principal teacher. That was a very, very important turning point in my life, because not only did I get some much needed advice from Bonfa (like letting my nails grow a bit and certain technical things) but right away my father took me to study with Savio. Savio was a very encouraging person, because he asked me "Do you really want to be a professional guitarist? Because you can be!" And I said 'Yes, I want it very much.' I remember that moment very clearly." Carlos has released more than thirty albums in his storied career, examining the classical music of Bach, Ginastera and Scarlatti, as well as the popular music of Gershwin, Jobim and Joplin. It is always delivered with impeccable taste and his flawless skill.

***Scarlatti From The Gifted Guitar Of Barbosa-Lima (1973) signed by Carlos***

Erin and I saw Carlos recently at the Jazz Forum in Tarrytown, New York, a wonderfully intimate club helmed by Mark Morganelli and his lovely wife Ellen. It is a beautifully run club with fabulous acoustics, befitting Mark's extensive experience as an accomplished trumpeter and band leader in his own right. Indeed, we have seen many shows there and it is akin to seeing an incredible artist in your living room, replete with Mark's vinyl collection, pool table gracing the sitting room, and a wall of framed albums autographed by Jazz stars. It is truly a jazz club unlike any other!

***Carlos Barbosa-Lima at the Jazz Forum, Tarrytown NY 3.01.20***

Carlos appeared on stage and performed solo for about thirty minutes, his repertoire included some classical pieces as well as some from the Jobim canon. Then Carlos was joined by his colleague Larry Del Casale on guitar and a percussionist. They were showcasing songs from their newest release Delicado. Jobim's "A Felicidade" and from Luiz Bonfa's masterwork Black Orpheus, "Samba de Orfeu" and "Manha de Carnaval." were exquisitely executed and the interplay between Carlos and Larry was compelling.

***Carlos Barbosa-Lima, Jazz Forum, Tarrytown NY 3.01.20***

After the show, Carlos received accolades from his many fans and headed to the bar to order a libation. Erin and I were waiting for him with some vinyl. He ordered a Heineken and sat with us at the bar and sifted through the album covers. He said that the Jobim & Gershwin album was very important to him, "That was my first record for Carl Jefferson, President of Concord Records. Fortunately, that album sold very well and I was able to record many more records for Concord. That was some really great music!" I mentioned that I knew he was very close with Charlie Byrd, whom Erin and I had seen many times when we lived in Washington, DC. "Yes, Charlie was a great friend. When I first came to the US in 1967, I used to see him at The Showboat, and of course, later at his club (Charlie's) in Georgetown. That was a great club and I played with him there several times. He also introduced me to Carl Jefferson who really helped my career."

***Guitar From Ipanema (1964) signed by Carlos***

When I handed Carlos a couple of Laurindo Almeida records, he smiled warmly. "Yes, I was also very close with Laurindo. He had quite an eye for the ladies," Carlos confided. "Yes, he was very - how shall I say - gallant!" Yes, Laurindo surely was. The Guitar From Ipanema featured a comely, bikini-clad maiden photographed by George Jerman not on the fabled beaches of Ipanema, but at the less acclaimed Bahia Motor Hotel in Mission Beach, California. The visual effect was nonetheless stunning. Jerman was the staff photographer for Capitol Records, probably best known for his work with the Beach Boys, including the cover for Pet Sounds, shot at the San Diego Zoo. The 1964 Grammys nominated (in their infinite good taste) The Guitar From Ipanema for best album cover, however Barbra Streisand's People took home the prize.

***Happy Cha Cha Cha (1959) signed by Carlos***

The Segovia album prompted this observation from Carlos: "While his recordings from the 1920s and '30s are spectacular, I actually prefer his later recordings. They are more mature, well rounded and robust. They benefit immensely from his years of experience." What about your two years of study with him in Madrid? "Well, I did go to visit with him in Madrid, but not really a formal study, This was 1968 and I had already released many records. Segovia was a great man and we played together, mostly we talked about techniques and guitars (quel surprise!). He had some master craftsman who supplied him with these wonderful custom guitars."

***Segovia: Bach: Chaconne (1969) signed by Carlos***

We thanked Maestro Carlos Barbosa-Lima for his generosity and his music. As he said so presciently in 1983, " Good music reaching people has its service. We are in a very interesting, very turbulent, noisy world now. The guitar is a magical vehicle - it can bring that joy, that positive human feeling. It can be a great instrument for hope." Certainly, Carlos and his music is an embodiment of joy and hope!

Choice Carlos Barbosa-Lima Cuts (per BKs request)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wk7OQf1BDTw

“Gymnopedie No. 1” Impressions (1991)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-jv68mYWNQI

“Perfidia” Live 2013 Maestro Carlos

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gdUuEOfY5lw

“Batuque” Live 2012

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_6aS9QTFs1g

“Delicado” Carlos with Larry Del Casale, Duduka Da Fonseca

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GjLOsZ22keg

“La Bikina” Live 2012