The barriers between classical music, jazz, and indigenous Brazilian music have been obscured through the playing of Rio de Janeiro-born and Seattle-based pianist, keyboardist, and flutist
Jovino Santos Neto. A member of
Hermeto Pascoal's band from 1977 to 1992,
Neto continued to expand on his world music-influenced vocabulary. He built on his knowledge of Brazilian music during stints with
Sergio Mendes in 1992 and
Airto Moreira and
Flora Purim's group,
Fourth World, from 1993 until 1997. He also worked with such artists as
Mike Marshall, Jill Russell, and the Jesse Stern Group, and recorded several albums with
Gary Stroutsos, including the Native American-influenced
People of the Willows. In 1994, he toured Europe with Swiss cellist David Pezzoti.
Neto's 1997 debut solo album, Caboclo, featuring the accompaniment of his quartet members bassist
Chuck Deardorf, saxophonist
Hans Teuber, and drummer
Mark Ivester (and guest percussionist
Moreira), was followed by
Ao Vivo em Olympia in 2000.
"I believe in the power of music and in its role as a tool for transformation,"
Neto said during a late-'90s interview. "With every note I write or play I imagine how that note will touch someone somewhere and that energy will go around the world and return to me as an inspiration to play even more. I see myself as a link in a chain that started a long time ago, and it is my mission as a musician to keep that chain growing and evolving forever."
Studying classical piano from the age of 12,
Neto moved to
Beatles and
Rolling Stones-influenced pop by his 15th birthday. While exposure to bands such as
Yes and
Emerson, Lake & Palmer was reflected in the increased complexity of his music, he began to focus on jazz while studying biology at McGill University in Montreal. Invited to tour Brazil with
Pascoal in 1977,
Neto remained an important part of the Brazilian multi-instrumentalist's band for 15 years, co-producing six albums, including
Festa dos Deuses, which received a Sharp Prize as Best Instrumental Album in 1992, and scoring hundreds of
Pascoal's compositions. Relocating to the United States in 1993 after performing on
Sergio Mendes' Grammy award-winning world music album,
Brasileiro,
Neto studied at the Cornish College of the Arts in Seattle. He continues to teach classes at the school in piano, composition, and jazz ensemble.
Neto remains involved with a diverse range of projects as well. In 2000, he wrote "Os Vagalumes" for the chamber music group Musicians Accord, released albums with vocalist Joyce Yarrow and violinist
Richard Boukas, and produced and played keyboards on Jill Russell's album
Check the Beans. In addition to conducting the Shorecrest Symphony Orchestra, he has composed MIDI music for numerous multimedia projects. ~ Craig Harris