Antônio Maurício Horta de Melo (2 December 1948) was born in in the Southeastern state of Minas Gerais, in a city called Belo Horizonte. Where he was born would prove to be a big influence in his playing as he developed a style closely linked to that of other musicos mineiros like Milton Nascimento, Nivaldo Ornelas, Lô Borges, Fernando Brant, Wagner Tiso, and Beto Guedes. His love for his place of birth is addressed in compositions like Aqui, Oh!: “Oh, Minas Gerais, take someone back onto you who stayed away twenty years or maybe longer. I would go back even penniless…”
Toninho was born into a family of musicians and composers: his grandfather was a conductor, his mom played the bandolim, all his brothers played and sung, and his brother, a bassist, taught him how to play guitar. He wrote his first composition when he was only 14 years old, a composition entitled Flor que cheira saudade, recorded by Aecio Flavio.
Toninho grew up listening to music as varied as church choirs, Congado rituals, classical music, and jazz. But Toninho always looked for his own sound: “When I started to play the guitar I begun to search, naturally, for a sonority… for a different sound.” Besides the instruction Toninho received from his brother, he was always a self-taught musician, a fact that led him to develop the unique sound he was looking for. Personally, I was never surprised of his soloing in the same way I was of improvisers like Joe Pass, Pat Metheny, John Scofield, John Abercrombie, Wes Montgomery, etc etc. That is perhaps because even though he listened and learned from players like Wes, Barney Kessel, Tal Farlow, Baden Powell, and Jorge Ben, he acknowledges that he “never copied one phrase from those guys.” Instead, he found his own style (when he was about 18 years old he relates), a style that focuses more on composition and orchestration and less on individual soloing.
“I love to show a conception of my music. That’s just much more meaningful to me than to just play the guitar.”
Toninho was part of the 1972 iconic band that recorded Clube da Esquina, playing electric or nylon string guitar in some tracks and percussion or bass in others. His solo in O Trem Azul is prescient of the style of chord soloing he would continue to develop. He is also responsible for playing the iconic rhythmic guitar of Cravo e Canela, arguably the most famous track of Clube da Esquina.
In 1973, Toninho recorded the first album carrying his name with Beto Guedes, Danilo Caymmi, and Novelli. The seventh track, Manoel o Audaz (20:54 in the video below), is one he has continued to perform and record in numerous occasions, such as his 1980 self-titled album and his 1997 album with Jack Lee. Manoel o Audaz is a prime example of Toninho’s beautiful way of creating compositions that defy all definitions of style.
In 1980, Toninho finally released the first album under his name: Terra dos Pássaros. This album features his composition Aquelas Coisas Todas, his approach to a samba groove, tracks influenced by Tropicalismo, a movement in the 1960s proposed by musicians like Caetano Veloso and Gilberto Gil (check out Caetano’s No Carnaval in this album), and the beautiful bossa nova Beijo Partido. No Carnaval and Beijo Partido are great examples of Toninho’s approach to bossa nova, an approach I find as unique as Toninho’s compositional voice. In No Carnaval, Toninho uses a subtle chorus on an electric guitar, which together with his harmonic sensibility, gives the composition a unique character.
Also released in 1980, Toninho’s eponymous album was my personal introduction to his music. From the moment I listened to the opening Aqui, Oh!, I knew I had found something unique. Though harmonically and melodically complex, what first touched me from this composition was that familiar nature of Brazilian music, as if the music was emanating from the depths of the music of our ancestors. Every track in this album is worth listening to, but perhaps one of the biggest surprises is the appearance of Pat Metheny as guest performer, most prominently in Prato Feito and the already-mentioned Manoel o Audaz. If you’re familiar with Metheny’s music then perhaps this album will you remind you of Still Life (Talking) and his subsequent Brazilian-influenced albums. Many think that Toninho was influenced by Metheny and therefore the similarity, but considering that Still Life (Talking) was not recorded till 1987 and that Metheny was in Brazil well before that, as also documented in this album, it might be worth reconsidering that notion. In other words, without Toninho, Metheny’s music would not have taken the course it took! When asked about his friendship with Pat, Toninho relates: “I met him in 1980 in Brazil: Celia Vaz, a brazilian guitar player who studied with Pat at Berklee, introduced us, and the first time we got together, he loved me as a person and for my playing.
For reasons still unbeknown to me, Toninho didn’t record for 8 years, but when he finally got back in the studio, what a joyful occasion that was! My personal favorite of his album Diamond Land is Raul, but as in his previous album, every track is worth listening to. The beginning of Raul brings to my mind the style of Ivan Lins, but as everything Toninho does, it carries his signature all throughout. Another pleasant surprise in this album is Toninho’s tribute to Joe Zawinul and the inclusion of Wayne Shorter in said track.
A year later, in 1989, Toninho released another seminal album: Moonstone. He had emigrated to New York in the mid 80’s and played regularly with former Pat Metheny Group members, drummer Danny Gottlieb, and bassist Mark Egan. Together with the two of them and other master musicians like bassist Steve Rodby, pianist Eliane Elias, and percussionist Nana Vasconcelos, he composed a beautiful album with mesmerizing melodies like the opening Bicycle Ride and grooves only Toninho can pull off like Gershwin, (a tribute to George Gershwin I’m assuming). Pat Metheny made another appearance in this album, albeit this time in a duo with Toninho for the title track Moonstone (Toninho is on the right channel and Pat on the left).
In 1992, Toninho recorded an album that was quite different from what he had recorded so far. It was a recording of mostly standards (Footprints, Stella by Starlight, Lullaby of Birdland, My Funny Valentine) with bassist Gary Peacock and drummer Billy Higgins accompanying him. This was an opportunity for him to take center stage as improviser in the jazz tradition. This is definitely what draws me most to Toninho’s playing, but he definitely makes it work and shows that he has chops that he can play while maintaining his style.
Toninho is still performing extensively today and thanks to Nelson Faria’s awesome program Um Cafe la Em Casa (which you should all check out), we can get a deeper view into Toninho’s life and music in a total of about 66 min of music and interview. The program is in Portuguese, but it has subtitles in English! Here is the first part:
If you have the money (about $150), there is a published fake book with lead sheets to 40 of Toninho’s compositions. There is also a biography in portuguese of Toninho entitled Harmonia Compartilhada, but it is hard to find in the US.
As an introduction to Toninho I believe I have already given enough to listen to, but there is definitely a lot more, so expect more in the future, specially if people seem to enjoy this post! So, if you liked it, please like, share, and suscribe!
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