Antonio Adolfo

Antonio Adolfo

Musicians | Instrument: Piano | Location: Fort Lauderdale

This [Jobim Forever] is a beautiful, spellbinding recording. If you dig Tom Jobim and Brazilian music from the '60s, how can you miss?
—Richard J Salvucci, All About jazz

Updated: June 28, 2023

Born: February 10, 1947

Antonio Adolfo is an important composer, having written songs recorded by many Brazilian and International artists. He also had a noted role in the process of making important music available through independent production, through the creation of the pioneer independent label Artezanal.

As an arranger, he worked for several musicians and singers.

The son of Yolanda Maurity, a music teacher and violinist of the orchestra of the Teatro Municipal do Rio de Janeiro, Antonio Adolfo began to study music very early. At seven, he began his violin studies with Paulina D'Ambrozzio. At 15, he took up piano, studying with Amyrton Vallim, Werther Politano, Wilma Graça and with the internationally renowned Eumir Deodato.

In 1963, he joined the group Samba Cinco, which performed in the famous Beco das Garrafas, the Rio's 52nd street. In 1964 Adolfo was invited by Carlos Lyra and Vinicius de Moraes to be a musician for their play Pobre Menina Rica, beginning to accompany important names of MPB.

Adolfo formed the group 3-D for that gig, and continued to perform with it until 1968, having recorded four LPs. In that year, he became acquainted with Tiberio Gaspar, with whom he wrote important songs such as "Juliana," "Sa Marina (Pretty World)," "Teletema," and "BR-3."

In 1969 Adolfo accompanied Elis Regina in her tours through Europe.

Back to Brazil in the same year, he wrote music for TV series and participated in several Music Contests, which gave him some awards.

In 1973 Adolfo and had decided to study with the classical Nadia Boulanger, in Paris. Back to Brazil, in 1975, he studied harmony and composition with Guerra Peixe and Esther Scliar. By that period he also restarted his career as studio session pianist, arranger, and producer.

In 1977 even more deserving of attention is his work as a pioneer in the independent production field, which awakened artists and public to the necessity of opening alternative routes to non-commercial productions. So in that year he launched his independent label Artezanal with the album Feito em Casa, with only originals. The LP Encontro Musical was released in the following year. Viralata (1979) an instrumental classic album had mainly originals, and Continuidade (1980) had special guests. In 1984 Adolfo released through the label Funarte a tribute album dedicated to the compositions of Joao Pernambuco, with participation of No em Pingo D'agua. In 1981 he paid tribute to the great Brazilian composer Ernesto Nazareth, and in 1983, another tribute, this time, to Chiquinha Gonzaga, a seminal Brazilian female conductor, pianist, and composer, interpreting her songs in Viva Chiquinha Gonzaga.

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5
Album Review

Antonio Adolfo: Bossa 65

Read "Bossa 65" reviewed by Katchie Cartwright


In 1963, a seventeen-year-old Antonio Adolfo was already gigging professionally on the exploding bossa nova scene in Rio de Janeiro, his hometown. His career has continued unabated. For decades, he has been putting out a steady stream of admirable albums, earning critical praise and multiple Grammy nominations. His releases have often focused on the work of great Brazilian composers (Chiquinha com Jazz, BruMa, Jobim Forever), sometimes on a particular style or genre (Chora Baião, Rio Choro Jazz), on connections between ...

1
Album Review

Antonio Adolfo: Bossa 65

Read "Bossa 65" reviewed by Pierre Giroux


Composer, arranger and pianist Antonio Adolfo has a discography which extends to the very early days of the Bossa Nova craze that swept through Brazil and into North America. With his deep roots in the Bossa tradition, Adolfo is an internationally recognized Brazilian jazz personage. Many of his original compositions have been covered by artists such as Sergio Mendes, Herb Alpert and Stevie Wonder among many others. He has also helped to celebrate the work of well-known Bossa players such ...

4
Album Review

Antonio Adolfo: Bossa 65

Read "Bossa 65" reviewed by Chris May


A decade or more younger than the composer / musicians in the first wave of bossa nova artists, Antonio Adolfo began recording under his own name towards the end of the 1960s. Better known as a pianist and arranger than as a composer, though he has written some notable tunes, in recent years Adolfo has carved out a niche celebrating the work of belle epoque bossa songwriters. In 2017, Adolfo sidestepped with Hybrido: From Rio To Wayne ...

5
Album Review

Antonio Adolfo: Octet And Originals

Read "Octet And Originals" reviewed by Richard J Salvucci


Some people can probably say what they were doing the first time they heard modern Brazilian music. The first wave hit in the early '60s with Vinicius de Moraes and Antonio Carlos Jobim, but there has been a great deal of water over the dam since then. Stylistic variety, regional variations, new composers, two generations of players, technical advances in both recording and instrumental technique have all played a part in establishing Brazilian as some of the most listenable music. ...

4
Album Review

Daniela Soledade: Pretty World

Read "Pretty World" reviewed by Edward Blanco


Brazilian singer and composer Daniela Soledade presents her sophomore release Pretty World continuing a family tradition of exploration into light bossa nova music. Recognized as a proponent for a new bossa nova sound, her unique hushed-styled vocals distinguish this singer from the other vocalists of the genre. Born in Rio de Janeiro where the album was recorded, Soledade co-wrote two originals ("Beijo No Arpoador" and “Nothing Compares") with guitarist and producer Nate Najar and sings lyrics in English and Portuguese. ...

7
Album Review

Antonio Adolfo: Octet And Originals

Read "Octet And Originals" reviewed by Pierre Giroux


Antonio Adolfo is a pianist, composer, arranger and bandleader in the Latin jazz tradition, but his music is informed by Brazilian musical styles of the samba, bossa, quadrilha and toada. This latest Adolfo release entitled Octet And Originals features all his original compositions and are played by a stellar band of musicians who have been connected with him for many years. This ten track outing starts with “Heart Of Brazil," which is a tribute to the ...

6
Album Review

Antonio Adolfo: Jobim Forever

Read "Jobim Forever" reviewed by Edward Blanco


Pianist, composer, educator and arranger extraordinaire, Antonio Adolfo has been at the forefront of the samba and bossa nova genre for decades. A proponent of the music of Antonio Carlos Jobim, Adolfo pays tribute to the genre master on the splendid Jobim Forever. This homage focuses on the icon's work from the 1960s, selecting songs that are instantly recognizable as being a part of an era that put Rio de Janeiro on the jazz landscape. In addition to ...

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Website

All About Jazz Top 10 Songs: November 2022

All About Jazz Top 10 Songs: November 2022

Source: All About Jazz

All About Jazz features a free song every day spanning all genres of jazz, and of the songs featured in November, these ten represent our reader's favorites as indicated by total listens. Musicians and record labels can submit full length MP3s for consideration here. Enjoy! Top Tracks Heart Of Brazil Antonio Adolfo From: Octet And Originals 05:39 Minus Eight Cícero Lee From: Na Casa Da Nuvem 8:21 Parlami ...

6

Recording

Renowned Brazilian Composer And Pianist Antonio Adolfo Releases "BruMa - Celebrating Milton Nascimento"

Renowned Brazilian Composer And Pianist Antonio Adolfo Releases "BruMa - Celebrating Milton Nascimento"

Source: Mouthpiece Music

Antonio Adolfo is one of the premier pianists, composers, and arrangers to emerge from Brazil, a country rife with exceptional musical talent. A prolific recording artist, Adolfo is now releasing BruMa: Celebrating Milton Nascimento. A multi-Latin Grammy and Grammy nominee, Antonio Adolfo is an internationally recognized Latin jazz star. He met singer and composer Milton Nascimento in 1967 at the Second International Song Festival (FIC) in Rio de Janeiro, the biggest musical contest event in Brazil, where both participated. The ...

Birthday

Jazz Musician of the Day: Antonio Adolfo

Jazz Musician of the Day: Antonio Adolfo

Source: Michael Ricci

All About Jazz is celebrating Antonio Adolfo's birthday today!

Antonio Adolfo is an important composer, having written songs recorded by many Brazilian and International artists. He also had a noted role in the process of making important music available through independent production, through the creation of the pioneer independent label Artezanal. As an arranger, he worked for several musicians and singers. The son of Yolanda Maurity... Read more.

Place our Musician of the Day widget on your website or blog. ...

1

Recording

Grammy Nominated Pianist Antonio Adolfo Releases “Encontros – Orquestra Atlantica”

Grammy Nominated Pianist Antonio Adolfo Releases “Encontros – Orquestra Atlantica”

Source: All About Jazz

Throughout the past 40 years, Antonio Adolfo has had a very busy career as a pianist, composer and arranger. Born and raised in Rio de Janeiro, his teachers included Eumir Deodato and Nadia Boulanger (in Paris). A jazz pianist since the mid-1960s in Brazil, Adolfo worked with such major singers as Leny Andrade, Flora Purim, Elis Regina and Milton Nascimento and has recorded more than 25 albums as a leader. A major name for decades, his music combines together Brazilian ...

3

Birthday

Jazz Musician of the Day: Antonio Adolfo

Jazz Musician of the Day: Antonio Adolfo

Source: Michael Ricci

All About Jazz is celebrating Antonio Adolfo's birthday today!

Antonio Adolfo is an important composer, having written songs recorded by many Brazilian and International artists. He also had a noted role in the process of making important music available through independent production, through the creation of the pioneer independent label Artezanal. As an arranger, he worked for several musicians and singers. The son of Yolanda Maurity... Read more.

Place our Musician of the Day widget on your website or blog. ...

3

Recording

Far Out Recordings Reissues Antonio Adolfo's "Viralata"

Far Out Recordings Reissues Antonio Adolfo's "Viralata"

Source: All About Jazz

Far Out Recordings are honoured to be working with master composer, arranger and pianist, Antonio Adolfo for the first time since releasing his Destiny album in 2007. This time we present the first ever vinyl reissue of his era-defining Viralata LP: An essential album from Brazil's majorly progressive heyday of late seventies jazz-funk. Viralata is a sacred artefact of Brazilian music, which Antonio himself describes as ‘a product of my hybrid musical influences that joins together flavours of marchinhas de ...

13

Recording

Pianist Antonio Adolfo releases "HYBRIDO-From Rio to Wayne Shorter" on AAM Music

Pianist Antonio Adolfo releases "HYBRIDO-From Rio to Wayne Shorter" on AAM Music

Source: Jim Eigo, Jazz Promo Services

For the esteemed Brazilian composer/arranger/pianist Antonio Adolfo, his life’s work has been to bring to the world the diverse richness of the Brazilian musical traditions—with a particular focus upon its parallel developments with the profound legacy of jazz. But of equal importance is making great music, to which his many highly acclaimed and Latin Grammy-nominated albums clearly testify. For his latest delightful excursion, the incomparable Wayne Shorter provides the essence of his focus with HYBRIDO, subtitled From Rio to Wayne ...

1

Birthday

Jazz Musician of the Day: Antonio Adolfo

Jazz Musician of the Day: Antonio Adolfo

Source: Michael Ricci

All About Jazz is celebrating Antonio Adolfo's birthday today!

Antonio Adolfo is an important composer, having written songs recorded by many Brazilian and International artists. He also had a noted role in the process of making important music available through independent production, through the creation of the pioneer independent label Artezanal. As an arranger, he worked for several musicians and singers. The son of Yolanda Maurity... Read more.

Place our Musician of the Day widget on your website or blog. ...

5

Contest

Enter the "Antonio Adolfo - Rio, Choro, Jazz..." Giveaway!

Enter the "Antonio Adolfo - Rio, Choro, Jazz..." Giveaway!

Source: All About Jazz

All About Jazz members are invited to enter the AAM Music “Antonio Adolfo - Rio, Choro, Jazz...“ giveaway contest starting today. We'll select FIVE winners at the conclusion of the contest on July 14th. Click here to enter the contest (Tracking Antonio Adolfo at AAJ automatically enters you in the contest.) Good luck! Your Friends at AAM Music About Rio, Choro, Jazz... During the second half of the 19th Century, Rio was the perfect place for the birth ...

Recording

Antonio Adolfo: "Finas Misturas"

Antonio Adolfo: "Finas Misturas"

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers

Brazilian pianist, arranger and composer Antonio Adolfo became a professional musician in Rio de Janeiro at age 17 and has since recorded 25 albums as a leader. His teachers were Eumir Deodato and Nadia Boulanger in Paris. Adolfo's songs have been recorded by Sérgio Mendes, Stevie Wonder (Pretty World), Herb Alpert, Earl Klugh and Dionne Warwick. What makes Adolfo's music special is the high proportion of sophisticated jazz sifted together with his Brazilian heritage. On his new album Finas Misturas ...

Primary Instrument

Piano

Location

Fort Lauderdale

Willing to teach

Intermediate to advanced

Credentials/Background

All levels. Piano, Arranging, Brazilian Music. Check schedule

Clinic/Workshop Information

All levels. Piano, Arranging, Brazilian Music Check availability

Artists who share similar musical characteristics to Antonio Adolfo.

Contact

Publicist

Jim Eigo, Jazz Promo Services

Music

Heart Of Brazil

From: Octet And Originals
By Antonio Adolfo

Rio, Choro, Jazz...

From: Rio, Choro, Jazz...
By Antonio Adolfo

Misturando

From: Finas Misturas
By Antonio Adolfo

Chora Baiao

From: Chora Baiao
By Antonio Adolfo