Gismonti was born in the small city of
Carmo, state of
Rio de Janeiro,
Brazil, into a musical family. His mother was from
Sicily and his father was from
Beirut,
Lebanon. At the age of six, he started studying the piano at the Brazilian Conservatory of Music. After studying the classical repertoire in Brazil for 15 years, he went to
Paris, France, to delve into modern music. He studied with
Nadia Boulanger (1887–1979), after acceptance as a student by the composer
Jean Barraqué, Gismonti is a self-taught guitarist. After returning to Brazil, he designed guitars with more than six strings, expanding the possibilities of the instrument. Approaching the fretboard as if it were a keyboard, Gismonti gives the impression that there is more than a single guitar player. Gismonti's sojourn in the
Xingu region of the Amazon basin made a lasting impression. This is documented musically in tunes such as "Yualapeti" and "Sapain" (Yualapeti shaman, Sapain) and in the recordings
Dança das Cabeças ("Dance of the Heads", 1977),
Sol do Meio-Dia ("Noon Sun", 1978), which he dedicated to the Xingu, and
Duas Vozes ("Two Voices", 1984). The musical career of Gismonti spans five decades. The major phases are distinguished by record company, the ensemble format, and the musical collaborators. The most important ensembles are his Brazilian group Academia de Danças, including Mauro Senise (saxophone and flutes), Zeca Assumpção (bass) and Nenê (Realcino Lima Filho, drums and percussion), the duo with
Naná Vasconcelos (percussion), and the trio with
Charlie Haden (bass) and
Jan Garbarek (saxophone). In 1978 he founded the music label Carmo, which has had several joint ventures with ECM. == Discography ==