Biography
Joel Nascimento stands among the foremost masters of choro, safeguarding the lineage established by Jacob do Bandolim while charting fresh territory alongside Déo Rian. His career brought widespread recognition abroad and strong popular support at home, and he assembled Camerata Carioca, an ensemble that expanded the stylistic boundaries of the genre.
Nascimento first took up the cavaquinho in childhood and added piano and accordion at fourteen. He assembled Joel e Seu Ritmo to supply music for dances. Formal piano instruction began in 1955 at the Conservatório Brasileiro, yet hearing difficulties forced him to leave music in 1959; he trained instead as a radiologist. Ten years later, during a traditional roda de choro hosted by Oraci, he was persuaded to return. Oraci presented him with a mandolin, prompting a decisive shift to that instrument.
In 1974 Nascimento performed the suite “Retratos” by Radamés Gnattali, composed for Jacob do Bandolim; the composer himself praised the interpretation. That August he joined the recording A Música de Donga alongside childhood idols Dino, Canhoto, Meira, and fellow veterans. He soon became a sought-after accompanist for samba figures such as João Nogueira, with whom he cut “Braço de Boneca” and “De Rosas e Coisas Amigas” still in 1974, and Beth Carvalho. These connections led to appearances on programs including Vem Quem Tem, Vem Quem Não Tem, shared with Cartola, Roberto Nascimento, Cláudio Jorge, and others.
His debut solo album, Chorando Pelos Dedos, appeared on Odeon in 1975 and sold forty thousand copies over six years—an impressive figure for an instrumental release. Alongside Waldir Azevedo, Paulo Moura, and additional colleagues he took part in the show Choro Na Praça, later issued by WEA. At Nascimento’s request Gnattali arranged “Retratos” for the choro regional, whose incorporation of chamber-music textures gave rise to Camerata Carioca and a new generation of players. Odeon released Meu Sonho in 1978; the following year WEA issued Tributo a Jacob do Bandolim, again featuring Gnattali and Camerata Carioca.
Nascimento performed with the Orquestra Sinfônica Brasileira, the Orquestra de Blumenau in Santa Catarina, the Orquestra do Teatro Municipal in Rio de Janeiro, and numerous other orchestras. In 1982 he appeared at Lincoln Center in New York with Arthur Moreira Lima, Rafael Rabello, and additional musicians, then toured Germany, Austria, Portugal, Italy, France, French Guyana, Argentina, and Japan. Festival engagements included Montreux in Switzerland, Nice and Corsica in France, and New Mexico in the United States. Additional solo albums followed.
Nascimento first took up the cavaquinho in childhood and added piano and accordion at fourteen. He assembled Joel e Seu Ritmo to supply music for dances. Formal piano instruction began in 1955 at the Conservatório Brasileiro, yet hearing difficulties forced him to leave music in 1959; he trained instead as a radiologist. Ten years later, during a traditional roda de choro hosted by Oraci, he was persuaded to return. Oraci presented him with a mandolin, prompting a decisive shift to that instrument.
In 1974 Nascimento performed the suite “Retratos” by Radamés Gnattali, composed for Jacob do Bandolim; the composer himself praised the interpretation. That August he joined the recording A Música de Donga alongside childhood idols Dino, Canhoto, Meira, and fellow veterans. He soon became a sought-after accompanist for samba figures such as João Nogueira, with whom he cut “Braço de Boneca” and “De Rosas e Coisas Amigas” still in 1974, and Beth Carvalho. These connections led to appearances on programs including Vem Quem Tem, Vem Quem Não Tem, shared with Cartola, Roberto Nascimento, Cláudio Jorge, and others.
His debut solo album, Chorando Pelos Dedos, appeared on Odeon in 1975 and sold forty thousand copies over six years—an impressive figure for an instrumental release. Alongside Waldir Azevedo, Paulo Moura, and additional colleagues he took part in the show Choro Na Praça, later issued by WEA. At Nascimento’s request Gnattali arranged “Retratos” for the choro regional, whose incorporation of chamber-music textures gave rise to Camerata Carioca and a new generation of players. Odeon released Meu Sonho in 1978; the following year WEA issued Tributo a Jacob do Bandolim, again featuring Gnattali and Camerata Carioca.
Nascimento performed with the Orquestra Sinfônica Brasileira, the Orquestra de Blumenau in Santa Catarina, the Orquestra do Teatro Municipal in Rio de Janeiro, and numerous other orchestras. In 1982 he appeared at Lincoln Center in New York with Arthur Moreira Lima, Rafael Rabello, and additional musicians, then toured Germany, Austria, Portugal, Italy, France, French Guyana, Argentina, and Japan. Festival engagements included Montreux in Switzerland, Nice and Corsica in France, and New Mexico in the United States. Additional solo albums followed.
Albums
Singles
