Primary Instrument: Guitar
Toninho Horta is a virtuoso electric and nylon-string guitar player; his music could be defined as (jazz influenced) Brazilian music. He has developed his own very personal style. His compositions are marked by beautiful harmonies and rich melodies often with surprisingly virtuoso right hand grooves. Besides being a strong composer and player, he worked many years as arranger or/and guitarist for many of the biggest stars in the Brazilian pop music scene such as: Elis Regina, Milton Nascimento, Maria Bethania, Joao Bosco, Airto Moreira, Edu Lobo, Nana Caymmi, Flora Purim, Gal Costa, Sergio Mendes, Chico Buarque, Flavio Venturini, Joyce, Johnny Alf, Wagner Tiso, Francis Hime and Beto Guedes (to mention but a few).
His beautiful compositions and original guitar playing has influenced a whole generation of musicians in Brazil. Pat Metheny, who considers him to be “one of the world's great composers on nylon-string guitar (named violao in Brazil),” comments, “He (Toninho) plays such great voicings with such a cool time feel... I've often described him to other musicians as the Herbie Hancock of Bossa-Nova guitarists ...in short, Toninho Horta is an incredible musician, the rare guitarist who understands harmony in its most intimate ways...” (Pat Metheny's words on the booklet of Toninho's “Diamond Land”). Pat's strong admiration for Toninho's music can be heard on many of his own compositions.
Among Toninho's most beloved compositions are Beijo Partido (Broken Kiss, on Diamond Land), Gershwin, Pedra da Lua and Manuel o Audaz (the last three on Moonstone. The last two appear with English titles consecutively Moonstone and Eternal Youth).
Toninho Horta has recently released a CD called Com o Pe no Forro with Dominguinhos and other musicians.
