AllMovie

Classical and jazz guitarist and composer Laurindo Almeida was a key player in fusing spicy Brazilian music with cool jazz to create the bossa nova music that was so popular during the mid '60s through the early '70s. At the height of his popularity, Almeida himself scored a few major feature films and assisted on the scores of others. Before coming to the United States in 1947, the Sao Paolo-born Almeida had established himself as one of the finest Spanish guitarists in Brazil's Rio de Janeiro. Once in the states, Almeida spent a year playing with Stan Kenton's Orchestra and then moved into studio work, while giving the occasional classical or jazz concerts. Almeida became famous in his own right in the early '60s after five consecutive albums won Grammy Awards. Almeida's haunting guitar work can first be heard on the movie soundtrack for A Star is Born (1954). He composed his first score for Goodbye, My Lady (1956). Other scores created by Almeida include Maricaibo (1958) and Flight (1961). He also contributed to the scores of The Godfather (1971) and Goya (1970). In addition, Almeida has performed with several movie and television orchestras.