Nico Assumpção
Encyclopedia
Nico Assumpção (August 13, 1954 in São Paulo
, Brazil- January 20, 2001 in Rio de Janeiro
), was a Brazil
ian bass
player.
. He changed to bass at 16, to fill in the void in a schoolmate's band. And he loved his new instrument.
At age of 17, he went to the U.S.
to study harmony
and orchestration
at the University of California
. Back in Brazil he went to study at CLAM, with famous Brazilian bassists Luis Chaves
and Amilton Godoy. Later, in 1976, he again left Brazil and headed to New York
, willing to study and perform with his instrument at a deeper level. There, he played with several important musicians of the jazz
scene, including Wayne Shorter
, Pat Metheny
, Sadao Watanabe, Larry Coryell
, Fred Hersh, Larry Willis
, Joe Diorio
, John Hicks
, Steve Slagle
, Victor Lewis
, Don Salvador and Charlie Rouse
.
In the USA, he mastered various bass playing techniques, being one of the pioneers of fretless and 6-string bass in Brazil when he came back on 1981, the same year in which he released the first bassist solo album in the country, titled "Nico Assumpção". In 1982 he moved to Rio de Janeiro
, where he lived for the rest of his life, and turned into one of the most popular bassists of the country among musicians and artists for recording and shows, having played and/or recorded with Milton Nascimento
, Caetano Veloso
, Gilberto Gil
, João Bosco
, Maria Bethânia
, Edu Lobo
, César Camargo Mariano
, Toninho Horta
, Luiz Avellar
, Wauke Wakabaiashi, Marco Pereira
, Ricardo Silveira, Gal Costa
, Hélio Delmiro
, Maria Bethânia
, Márcio Montarroyos
, Raphael Rabello, Edu Lobo
, Léo Gandelman
and Victor Biglione, among others.
São Paulo
São Paulo is the largest city in Brazil, the largest city in the southern hemisphere and South America, and the world's seventh largest city by population. The metropolis is anchor to the São Paulo metropolitan area, ranked as the second-most populous metropolitan area in the Americas and among...
, Brazil- January 20, 2001 in Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro , commonly referred to simply as Rio, is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil, and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America, boasting approximately 6.3 million people within the city proper, making it the 6th...
), was a Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
ian bass
Bass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
player.
Biography
His father was an amateur bass player, but Nico debuted in music by playing the acoustic guitar at the age of 10, having classes with Paulinho NogueiraPaulinho Nogueira
Paulinho Nogueira , was a Brazilian guitarist, composer and singer. He was an eclectic composer and his influences ranging from Bossa Nova to Bach....
. He changed to bass at 16, to fill in the void in a schoolmate's band. And he loved his new instrument.
At age of 17, he went to the U.S.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
to study harmony
Harmony
In music, harmony is the use of simultaneous pitches , or chords. The study of harmony involves chords and their construction and chord progressions and the principles of connection that govern them. Harmony is often said to refer to the "vertical" aspect of music, as distinguished from melodic...
and orchestration
Orchestration
Orchestration is the study or practice of writing music for an orchestra or of adapting for orchestra music composed for another medium...
at the University of California
University of California
The University of California is a public university system in the U.S. state of California. Under the California Master Plan for Higher Education, the University of California is a part of the state's three-tier public higher education system, which also includes the California State University...
. Back in Brazil he went to study at CLAM, with famous Brazilian bassists Luis Chaves
Luis Chaves
Luis Chaves , is a Costa Rican poet, considered one of the leading figures in contemporary Costa Rican poetry.-Life and career:After studying Agronomy at the University of Costa Rica, Chaves began to work as a free-lance writer. His first collection of poems, El Anónimo, was published by Editorial...
and Amilton Godoy. Later, in 1976, he again left Brazil and headed to New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, willing to study and perform with his instrument at a deeper level. There, he played with several important musicians of the jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
scene, including Wayne Shorter
Wayne Shorter
Wayne Shorter is an American jazz saxophonist and composer.He is generally acknowledged to be jazz's greatest living composer, and many of his compositions have become standards...
, Pat Metheny
Pat Metheny
Patrick Bruce "Pat" Metheny is an American jazz guitarist and composer.One of the most successful and critically acclaimed jazz musicians to come to prominence in the 1970s and '80s, he is the leader of the Pat Metheny Group and is also involved in duets, solo works and other side projects...
, Sadao Watanabe, Larry Coryell
Larry Coryell
Larry Coryell is an American jazz fusion guitarist.-Biography:Coryell was born in Galveston, Texas. He graduated from Richland High School, in Richland, Washington, where he played in local bands The Jailers, The Rumblers, The Royals, and The Flames. He also played with The Checkers from nearby...
, Fred Hersh, Larry Willis
Larry Willis
Lawrence Elliott Willis is an American jazz pianist and composer. He has performed in a wide range of styles, including jazz fusion rock music, Bebop and Avant-Garde...
, Joe Diorio
Joe Diorio
Joseph Louis Diorio is an American jazz guitarist. He has performed with legends of jazz like Sonny Stitt, Eddie Harris, Ira Sullivan, Stan Getz, Pat Metheny, Horace Silver, and Freddie Hubbard...
, John Hicks
John Hicks (jazz pianist)
John Josephus Hicks, Jr. was an American jazz pianist and composer, active in the New York and the international jazz scene from the mid-1960s.-Biography:...
, Steve Slagle
Steve Slagle
Steve Slagle is an American jazz saxophonist.Slagle was born in Los Angeles and grew up in suburban Philadelphia. he received a scholarship to the Berklee College of Music. He came to New York in 1976, playing with Machito and his Afro-Cuban orchestra, and played successively with Ray Barretto,...
, Victor Lewis
Victor Lewis
Victor Lewis is an American jazz drummer, a major force in the genre since the 1980s.-As leader:*1992: Family Portrait - with John Stubblefield, Edward Simon, Cecil McBee, Don Alias, Jumma Santos...
, Don Salvador and Charlie Rouse
Charlie Rouse
Charlie Rouse was an American hard bop tenor saxophonist and flautist. His career is marked by the collaboration for more than ten years with Thelonious Monk.- Biography :...
.
In the USA, he mastered various bass playing techniques, being one of the pioneers of fretless and 6-string bass in Brazil when he came back on 1981, the same year in which he released the first bassist solo album in the country, titled "Nico Assumpção". In 1982 he moved to Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro , commonly referred to simply as Rio, is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil, and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America, boasting approximately 6.3 million people within the city proper, making it the 6th...
, where he lived for the rest of his life, and turned into one of the most popular bassists of the country among musicians and artists for recording and shows, having played and/or recorded with Milton Nascimento
Milton Nascimento
-Biography:Nascimento's mother was the maid Maria Nascimento. As a baby, Milton Nascimento was adopted by his mother's former employers: the couple Josino Brito Campos, a banker employee, mathematics teacher and electronic technician; and Lília Silva Campos, a music teacher and choir singer...
, Caetano Veloso
Caetano Veloso
Caetano Emanuel Viana Teles Veloso , better known as Caetano Veloso, is a Brazilian composer, singer, guitarist, writer, and political activist. Veloso first became known for his participation in the Brazilian musical movement Tropicalismo which encompassed theatre, poetry and music in the 1960s,...
, Gilberto Gil
Gilberto Gil
Gilberto Passos Gil Moreira , better known as Gilberto Gil or , is a Brazilian singer, guitarist, and songwriter, known for both his musical innovation and political commitment...
, João Bosco
João Bosco
João Bosco de Freitas Mucci, better known as João Bosco is a noted Brazilian singer-songwriter with a distinctive style as a guitarist...
, Maria Bethânia
Maria Bethânia
Maria Bethânia Vianna Telles Veloso , better known as Maria Bethânia , is a singer and sister of Caetano Veloso. She started her career in Rio de Janeiro in 1964 with the show "Opinião"...
, Edu Lobo
Edu Lobo
Eduardo de Góes "Edu" Lobo is a Brazilian bossa nova singer, guitarist, and composer. He achieved fame in the 1960s as part of the bossa nova movement...
, César Camargo Mariano
Cesar Camargo Mariano
Cesar Camargo Mariano is a Brazilian pianist, arranger, composer and music producer. He is one of the most renowned instrumental artists to come out of his home country.-Biography:...
, Toninho Horta
Toninho Horta
Toninho Horta is a virtuoso electric and nylon-string guitar player; his music could be defined as Brazilian music.He has developed his own very personal style...
, Luiz Avellar
Luiz Avellar
João Luiz de Avellar, better known simply as Luiz Avellar is a Brazilian piano player.He played with many of the best musicians of Brazil, including Nico Assumpção, Kiko Freitas and Ney Conceição....
, Wauke Wakabaiashi, Marco Pereira
Marco Pereira
Marco Pereira is a Brazilian classical guitarist. He was born in São Paulo and took lessons from Isaias Savio, an important Uruguaian guitarist and teacher who brought Llobet's technique to Brasil...
, Ricardo Silveira, Gal Costa
Gal Costa
Gal Costa is a Brazilian singer of popular music.-Early life:...
, Hélio Delmiro
Hélio Delmiro
Hélio Delmiro is a Brazilian guitar player and composer.Delmiro started playing the guitar in early childhood.Since then, he has played with many of the best Brazilian musicians, among whom are Moacyr Silva, Márcio Montarroyos, Luíz Eça, Elis Regina, Elza Soares and Elizeth Cardoso...
, Maria Bethânia
Maria Bethânia
Maria Bethânia Vianna Telles Veloso , better known as Maria Bethânia , is a singer and sister of Caetano Veloso. She started her career in Rio de Janeiro in 1964 with the show "Opinião"...
, Márcio Montarroyos
Márcio Montarroyos
Márcio Montarrotos was a Brazilian trumpet player.Starting his studies with classical piano, he later went to trumpet and jazz.In the 70's, he traveled to USA, to study at Berklee School of Music.1988 the Swiss TV invited Montarroyos to produce two one- Hour Concerts together with the german guitar...
, Raphael Rabello, Edu Lobo
Edu Lobo
Eduardo de Góes "Edu" Lobo is a Brazilian bossa nova singer, guitarist, and composer. He achieved fame in the 1960s as part of the bossa nova movement...
, Léo Gandelman
Léo Gandelman
Léonardo Gandelman is a Brazilian saxophonist, composer and producer. He has played with Lulu Santos, and guest appeared in Titãs' single "Televisão"...
and Victor Biglione, among others.
Discography
- Nico Assumpção 1981 Brazil
- Luiz Avellar, Nico Assumpção e Kiko Freitas tocando Victor Assis Brasil 2000 Brazil
- Nico Assumpção, Nelson Faria, Lincoln Cheib Três/Three 2000 Brazil