Paulinho Garcia

WORK HISTORY

SKILLS

ABOUT PAULINHO GARCIA

I\'m a world touring Brazilian jazz musician based in Los Angeles, CA. Vocals have been my trade from the very beginning but I’ve also played some instruments. I started first on percussion then drums, and lastly the bass, which then became my main instrument. The nylon string guitar (violão) has always been my companion in learning new songs, making arrangements or just entertaining myself. It was only after I moved to the U.S. that it became my main instrument for performing having been discovered as a vocalist who could also simultaneously play.Throughout my career I’ve played various styles of music, from boleros and tangos to rock and roll, to popular Brazilian genres. In my late teens I was introduced through recordings to vocal jazz i.e. Nat King Cole, Ella Fitzgerald, Mel Tormé. Chet Baker and more, which increased my interest in moving to the U.S.My 55+ years career can be divided in two periods ie. Brasil and USBrasil - In my hometown Belo Horizonte, I led the group Os Agitadores and played with the Celio Balona band. Both groups were frequently part of Radio and TV programs. I also worked at the club Sambão e Sinhá in Copacabana, Rio de Janeiro (owned by singer Ivon Cury ) for a short period. All while simultaneously working as a Jingle composer for The Studio HP.USA - Chicago 1979 - I joined the band Breno\'s Brazilian Sounds which later became Made in Brasil. Then in 1991 I formed my own band Jazzmineiro and met my associated acts: Grazyna Auguscik, Julie Koidin, and Greg Fishman.It\'s been a great musical life playing in jazz festivals, jazz cruises and venues in many countries throughout Asia and Europe as well as here at home; giving workshops in prestigious colleges and universities, recording, producing and composing.(.Paulinho ought to be considered a Chicago treasure. Howard Reich, Chicago Tribune and LA Times)\".He becomes the epitome of the solitary troubadour - a romantic figure hardly visible anymore even in Brazil, where, like everywhere else, popular music has grown busier, louder, and rougher. Garcia\'s voice, an airy baritone, has less shadow and a bit more energy than Joao Gilberto\'s and his languid chords and cleanly plucked lines illuminate the complicated rhythms with the cool clarity of moonlight.\" Neil Tesser jazz journalist and author of The Playboy Guide To Jazz.\"Garcia provides constant evidence of his mastery of the art of the Brazilian song. Endlessly inventive with styles, Garcia is an innovative composer with a firmly rooted tradition.\" Dave Miele - Jazz Improv magazine, New York.