Laurindo Almeida

b. 2 September 1917, Sao Paulo, Brazil. A fluent and skilled musician, famous in his native country as a classical Spanish guitar player, Almeida came to the USA in the '40s to work in film and television studios. His jazz work was first widely exposed during a spell with Stan Kentonin the late '40s. Although continuing his studio work, Almeida also took many opportunities to play jazz, joining forces with bassist Harry Babasin, altoist Bud Shank and drummer Roy Harte in 1953. The work of this group anticipated many of the hallmarks of the bossa nova craze which came a few years later. In 1974 Almeida gained further appreciation when he was teamed with bassist Ray Brown, drummer Chuck Flores and Shank to form the LA Four. Records by this group, with Flores replaced successively by Shelly Manne and Jeff Hamilton, and later teamings with Shank in duo performances and with fellow guitarists Larry Coryell and Charlie Byrd, show Almeida to have lost none of the distinctive style that sets his work apart from the mainstream of jazz guitar.