Zimbo Trio

Zimbo Trio stands as a landmark ensemble within Brazilian music. Over its long history the group has issued more than forty albums worldwide and collected numerous honors at home, among them the Cidade de São Sebastião do Rio de Janeiro, Troféu Imprensa, Chico Viola, Medalha de Ouro dos Diários Associados, Roquette Pinto, and Euterpe awards for Best Instrumental Group, together with further distinctions from abroad. Its concert itinerary has taken the musicians to the Smithsonian Museum, Town Hall, and UCLA in the United States as well as to venues across Latin America, Portugal, France, Italy, Germany, Denmark, and Japan.

The ensemble came together in 1964 when classically trained pianist Amilton Godói joined forces with bassist, composer, and orchestrator Luís Chaves and drummer Rubinho, born Rubens Barsotti. Their debut appearance under the Zimbo Trio name occurred at São Paulo’s Oásis nightclub, where they supported actress-turned-singer Norma Benguell in a production overseen by Aluísio de Oliveira. Shortly afterward they earned the Pinheiro de Ouro prize as Best Instrumental Group at the I Festival do Paraná da MPB and cut their first LP, simply titled Zimbo Trio. In 1965 the musicians journeyed to Lima, Peru, and Buenos Aires, Argentina, receiving the Cancioneiro das Américas award at the Mar del Plata festival. The following year they performed in Portugal and Luanda, Angola, and appeared at the Cannes International Cinema Festival in France. They also received soundtrack honors for the films Noite Vazia (1965, Walter Hugo Khoury) and A Margem (1967, Ozualdo Candeias).

When TV Record in São Paulo launched the program O Fino da Bossa, the trio was engaged as house instrumentalists for hosts Elis Regina and Jair Rodrigues, thereby closing an era in which refined jazz-inflected arrangements mingled with Brazilian popular expression before giving way to the youth-oriented iê-iê-iê style. Zimbo Trio likewise took part in the similarly oriented yet less celebrated Bossaudade, presented by Elizeth Cardoso. On the rainy evening of 19 February 1968 the group joined Cardoso, mandolinist Jacob do Bandolim, and his ensemble Época de Ouro for a memorable concert at Rio’s João Caetano theater that drew fifteen hundred listeners despite the weather; the Imagery and Sound Museum of Rio de Janeiro captured the event, which later appeared on three LPs. At the invitation of Brazil’s diplomatic service the musicians undertook a cultural tour of Central and South America. In 1969 the Organization of American States selected them to represent Brazil at the International Festival of Cosquín in Córdoba, Argentina, after which they continued on to Washington, New York, and Los Angeles.

In 1972 Zimbo Trio traveled through Portugal and Spain alongside Elizeth Cardoso. Partnering with singer Sílvia Maria on Adilson’s composition “Heróica,” the group captured first prize at the Festival de Onda Nueva in Caracas, Venezuela. The following year the musicians broadened their reach into education by founding the CLAM music courses, which quickly gained prominence throughout Brazil, and by establishing the publishing firm Zimbo Edições Musicais to produce instructional materials. Composer Ciro Pereira created the dedicated Pequeno Concerto para o Zimbo Trio, which the ensemble premiered in 1974 in Buenos Aires with the Symphonic Orchestra of Buenos Aires under Simón Blech. In 1985 the trio appeared at the Free Jazz Festival in São Paulo and was featured on TV Cultura’s Café Concerto program. Two years later they toured Japan and performed on the same network’s Jazz Brasil broadcast.