| Jazz |
Jovino Santos Neto: A Brazilian Jazz Master’s First Seattle Chapter.
Jovino Santos Neto stands as one of the most commanding figures in contemporary Brazilian jazz. Pianist, composer, arranger, and three-time Latin Grammy nominee, he is among the most significant Brazilian musicians of his generation. Now based in Seattle, Washington, his career has been profoundly shaped by his long-standing association with the legendary Hermeto Pascoal. From 1977 to 1992, Santos Neto was an essential member of Pascoal’s groundbreaking ensemble, honing his craft while touring the world and co-producing several recordings that would become touchstones of Brazilian music.
The album at hand, recorded live in 1995, is more than just a concert document, it’s a vital piece of musical history. It offers yet another testament to Santos Neto’s gifts as a composer, instrumentalist and arranger, each role infused with a deep sense of cultural memory.
The attentive ear will detect the fingerprints of Brazil’s great classical musicians, the whispers of folk traditions, and the painterly grace of melodies that unfurl like brushstrokes. They call to mind the surreal touch of Dalí, not in melting clocks, but in the dreamlike fluidity of themes that slip, fold, and return with renewed brilliance. Listening is less an act of passive enjoyment than a journey into a sound world both intimate and expansive.
Santos Neto arrived in Seattle in 1993 to take a post at the Cornish College of the Arts, an incubator of creative experimentation since the early 20th century. Within weeks, he was sharing with local musicians his distinctive fusion of Brazilian, classical, and jazz idioms. Soon, he assembled a new ensemble with fellow faculty members, the seeds of a group that would evolve, over the next three decades, into the celebrated Quarteto. The 1995 performance captured here was their first-ever public appearance, presented to an enthusiastic audience at Seattle’s historic Kerry Hall on April 28 of that year.
The move to the United States would subtly shift Santos Neto’s artistic gaze. His music, always grounded in the colors and rhythms of Brazil, began to absorb the textures of his new home, shaped by collaborations in clubs, concert halls, and recording studios across the country. That night in 1995, alongside Hans Teuber on saxophones and flute, Mark Ivester on drums, and Chuck Deardorf on bass, marked the beginning of an enduring love affair between the city and Pascoal’s musical legacy, refracted through the brilliance of his protégé. Rediscovering the tapes in recent years, Santos Neto recognized their release as both a celebration of the group’s origins and a heartfelt tribute to Deardorf, a cornerstone of the ensemble until his passing in 2022.
For those attuned to its origins, this album is rewarding on multiple levels. The music is intricate, richly rhythmic, and, for some listeners, unapologetically challenging. But for those of us drawn to music with spice and vitality, it is a feast: vibrant, complex, and brimming with the joy of creation.
Thierry De Clemensat
Member at Jazz Journalists Association
USA correspondent for Paris-Move and ABS magazine
Editor in chief – Bayou Blue Radio, Bayou Blue News
PARIS-MOVE, August 13th 2025
Follow PARIS-MOVE on X
::::::::::::::::::::::::
Musicians:
Jovino Santos Neto – piano
Hans Teuber – flute, saxophones
Chuck Deardorf – bass
Mark Ivester – drums
Track Listing:
1 Metamorph 6:18
2 Mais Que Tudo 8:34
3 Caranavalha 7:08
4 Chorelético 7:18
5 Candango / Haja Juntas 12:33
6 Hoping for the Day 7:00
7 Happy Birthday Ariel! 5:00
All music composed by Jovino Santos Neto (Real Angle Music), except: (5) by Hermeto Pascoal; (7) based on Happy Birthday
Production Info:
Produced by Jovino Santos Neto
Recorded Live by John Burrough at Kerry Hall, Seattle, WA on April 28, 1995
Mixed by Michael Anthony Shanks, Houston, TX
Mastered by Ed Brooks at Resonant Mastering, Seattle, WA
Liner notes by Bruce Phares
Quarteto Photo by Ed Littlefield
Cover design & layout by John Bishop