BIOGRAPHY

Graduated by The Geneva Conservatory in Switzerland, Paulo Bellinati is one of Brazil’s most accomplished sort-after contemporary guitarist, composer, arranger and also a respected music scholar. He rediscovered, transcribed, and recorded the music of the great Brazilian guitarist-composer Annibal Augusto Sardinha (Garoto). His landmark recording THE GUITAR WORKS OF GAROTO and edition of Garoto’s works have received international critical acclaim. In another special álbum, with vocalist Mônica Salmaso, they performed his arrangements of the complete “AFRO-SAMBAS” by Baden Powell and Vinicius de Moraes.He has recorded a dozen of solo albums and has played and recorded with many artists including Steve Swallow, Carla Bley, Edu Lobo, Chico Buarque, César Camargo Mariano, and Leila Pinheiro. He won the 1994 Prêmio Sharp awards (Brazilian Grammy) as best arranger for Gal Costa’s CD “O Sorriso do Gato de Alice. In Brazil he also produced and recorded several guitar albums including “VIRADO” with Weber Lopes, and “PINGUE-PONGUE” with Cristina Azuma. Bellinati typically draws on Brazil’s rich musical heritage, adapting traditional forms and styles but infusing them with contemporary techniques and harmonies. Many guitarists have asked Bellinati to write a large-scale works, among them the Brasil Guitar Duo (João Luiz and Douglas Lora), which, together with Orquestra Sinfônica do Estado de São Paulo (OSESP), commissioned Bellinati to write one of his masterpieces:  “Concerto Caboclo for Two Guitars and Orchestra”. The duo premiered the piece in São Paulo, Brazil in June 2012 with OSESP conducted by Giancarlo Guerrero. In 2016, the Duo and the DELAWARE SYMPHONIC ORCHESTRA, conducted by Maestro David Amado, recorded the album “TWO CONCERTS FOR TWO GUITARS & ORCHESTRA” (Naxos), premiering Leo Brouwer and Paulo Bellinati concertos.He has won the first prize in composition for his solo guitar piece “Jongo”, at the “8th Carrefour Mondial de la Guitare” in Martinique. The piece has now more then 80 recordings by artists from all over the world including the great guitarist John Williams and, the outstanding DUO ASSAD.Recently, with Marco Pereira he has toured in Europe and Brazil with their most recent two guitars project. The “DUO” álbum will be launched by the end of 2017.