Home » Jazz Musicians » Bernardo Sassetti
Bernardo Sassetti
Bernardo da Costa Sassetti Pais was a Portuguese jazz pianist and film composer. Sassetti was born in Lisbon. He was a great-grandson of Sidónio Pais, President of the First Republic. He initially played guitar, then began studying piano and music theory at age nine. He became interested in jazz after hearing Bill Evans. He studied jazz with Horace Parlan and Sir Roland Hanna. By the late 1980s, he was backing visiting musicians and teaching jazz piano in Lisbon (and, later, taught throughout other lusophonic areas). During the 1990s, he worked in London, where he recorded three albums with Guy Barker's group. Anthony Minghella invited them to appear as the Napoli Jazz Sextet in The Talented Mr. Ripley. His 2006 album Unreal: Sidewalk Cartoon received a four-star rating (of a possible four) in The Penguin Guide to Jazz (9th ed.), and was selected for The Penguin Jazz Guide: The History of the Music in the 1000 Best Albums. In addition to his jazz work, Sassetti has composed numerous film scores. He has scored original soundtracks for some classic Portuguese movies, such as Os Crimes de Diogo Alves (João Tavares) and Maria do Mar (J. Leitão de Barros) as well as for more recent films: Facas e Anjos (TV) (Eduardo Guedes) and Aniversário (Mário Barroso). Bernardo Sassetti was married to actress Beatriz Batarda, with whom he had two daughters. He died on 10 May 2012, after falling off a cliff in Guinch Cascais (Portugal), where he was reportedly shooting pictures for his next book.
Tags
Bernardo Sassetti Trio: Culturgest 2007
by Mark Corroto
Many listeners were introduced to the pianist Bernardo Sassetti by the record label Clean Feed, which built its early reputation on his recordings. The releases Nocturno (2004), Indigo (2004), Ascent (2005), Unreal: Sidewalk Cartoon (2006), and Motion (2010) are true evergreens. His untimely accidental death in 2012 (like that of Esbjörn Svensson in 2008) was a shock to Sassetti's many supporters. A decade on, a 2007 concert performance by Sassetti and his longtime trio of bassist Carlos Barretto ...
read moreBernardo SassettiTrio: Motion
by Mark Corroto
Quite often, when hearing compositions by pianist Bernardo Sassetti, it's easy to mistake him for an American. His folksy charm has that Aaron Copland-meets-Bill Frisell kind of Americana. But no, this huge talent is Portugal's own son.
He is back again in a trio setting with bassist Carlos Barretto and drummer Alexandre Frazão. The three recorded Sassetti's critically acclaimed Nocturno (Clean Feed, 2001) and Ascent (Clean Feed, 2005). But Sassetti can also be heard in accordionist Wil Holshouser's ...
read moreBernardo Sassetti: Ascent
by Mark Corroto
I am often a music fanatic before I'm a reviewer. Note to self: read the liner notes of the CDs to which you listen. With apologies to those who always begin with the notes, I tore open the latest by Lisbon-born pianist Bernardo Sassetti, popped it in the player, and gave it a listen or three.
My brain kept registering the music as a soundtrack to some movie. I neglected to verify that Sassetti did in fact combine ...
read more21st Edition Jazz In The Park 2012: Homage To Bernardo Sassetti
Source:
Michael Ricci
July 15, 6 p.m., Serralves Auditorium CONCERT ‘PELAS MÃOS DE BERNARDO/THROUGH BERNARDO’S HANDS’ Parque da Fundação de Serralves Rua de Serralves 977 Porto In 2012, Jazz returns to Serralves Park on July 7, 14 and 21 always at 6 p.m. This year the stage at the Serralves Park Tennis Court will welcome a Portuguese orchestra, LUME – Lisbon Underground Music Ensemble and two groups from the United States: the quartet of saxophonist Marty Ehrlich ...
read more