Jovino Santos Neto

Born in Rio de Janeiro and now residing in Seattle, pianist, keyboardist, and flutist Jovino Santos Neto has erased conventional divisions separating classical music, jazz, and indigenous Brazilian traditions. Between 1977 and 1992 he performed with Hermeto Pascoal’s ensemble, deepening a vocabulary already shaped by world-music influences. Further immersion in Brazilian repertoire occurred during a 1992 engagement with Sergio Mendes and a 1993–1997 tenure with Fourth World, the ensemble of Airto Moreira and Flora Purim. Additional partnerships have included Mike Marshall, Jill Russell, and the Jesse Stern Group, while several joint recordings with Gary Stroutsos encompass the Native American-inflected People of the Willows. In 1994 he joined Swiss cellist David Pezzoti for a European tour. His debut solo album, Caboclo, appeared in 1997 with support from bassist Chuck Deardorf, saxophonist Hans Teuber, and drummer Mark Ivester plus guest percussionist Moreira; Ao Vivo em Olympia followed in 2000.

During a late-’90s interview Neto stated, “I believe in the power of music and in its role as a tool for transformation. 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.”

Classical piano training began at age twelve; by fifteen his listening had shifted toward Beatles- and Rolling Stones-driven pop. Exposure to Yes and Emerson, Lake & Palmer encouraged greater structural complexity, yet jazz became the central focus while he studied biology at McGill University in Montreal. An invitation to tour Brazil with Pascoal in 1977 extended into a fifteen-year association during which Neto co-produced six albums, among them Festa dos Deuses, recipient of the Sharp Prize for Best Instrumental Album in 1992, and notated hundreds of Pascoal’s compositions. After appearing on Sergio Mendes’ Grammy-winning world-music album Brasileiro, he relocated to the United States in 1993 and attended the Cornish College of the Arts in Seattle, where he continues to teach piano, composition, and jazz ensemble.

An array of projects still commands his attention. In 2000 he composed “Os Vagalumes” for chamber group Musicians Accord, released recordings with vocalist Joyce Yarrow and violinist Richard Boukas, and produced and played keyboards on Jill Russell’s Check the Beans. He also directs the Shorecrest Symphony Orchestra and has supplied MIDI scores for numerous multimedia productions.