Nuno Mindelis
Encyclopedia
Nuno Mindelis nicknamed "The Beast", is an Angola
n-born Brazil
ian blues
guitar
ist and singer-songwriter
.
Most of his recorded work has been sung in English
; however, he recorded his 2006 album
Outros Nunos in Portuguese, his native language. He has recorded two albums with the band Double Trouble
. Mindelis counts Otis Redding
and Johnny Winter
among his musical influences.
and his rhythm section, Booker T. & the MG's.
In 1990, an independent recording he had made began to receive airplay
on local radio station
s. In 1991, he recorded his debut solo album
, Blues & Derivados, which received positive reviews in Brazilian media. In 1992, he recorded his second solo album, Long Distance Blues for Movieplay Records. In this album Mindelis was joined by Larry McCray
, and the French
harmonica player, J.J. Milteau. As part of his promotional tour for the album, Mindelis played at a blues festival
in São Paulo
, featuring Robert Cray
, Otis Clay
, Ronnie Earl
, Lonnie Brooks
and Bo Diddley
.
In 1994, Guitar Player
magazine profiled Mindelis. In the article, Jas Obrecht (the editor at the time) compared Mindelis to Jimmy Page
. Further recognition came in their May 1998 issue, as Mindelis was selected as "Best Blues Guitarist" in the 30th Anniversary Guitar Player competition. In 1995, Mindelis played at Antone's
20th Anniversary in Austin, Texas
, opening for Guy Forsite and Junior Wells
others. Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown and Storyville also performed at the event.
Later that year, Mindelis recorded his album Texas Bound, featuring Tommy Shannon and Chris Layton, of Stevie Ray Vaughan
's rhythm section, Double Trouble. Texas Bound was the 12th best selling album seller in Benelux
.
In 1999, Mindelis released Blues On The Outside. Mindelis appeared at the 25th edition of the Montreal International Jazz Festival in 2001, and did other presentations in Quebec
, Ottawa
. Mindelis played at the festival again in 2004, after the release of his album Twelve Hours, and again played Quebec and Ottawa, and also the Montremblant Blues Festival, sharing the stages with Keb' Mo'
and Jimmy Vaughan. Andy Grieg in Canada's Real Blues magazine asked, "Is the new King of the blues a man based in Brazil?"
In 2005, Mindelis recorded the album, Outros Nonos, dedicated to Brazil, with all of the songs sung in Portuguese.
Angola
Angola, officially the Republic of Angola , is a country in south-central Africa bordered by Namibia on the south, the Democratic Republic of the Congo on the north, and Zambia on the east; its west coast is on the Atlantic Ocean with Luanda as its capital city...
n-born 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 blues
Blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
ist and singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...
.
Most of his recorded work has been sung in English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
; however, he recorded his 2006 album
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
Outros Nunos in Portuguese, his native language. He has recorded two albums with the band Double Trouble
Double Trouble (band)
Double Trouble was the backing rhythm section for Texas blues rock guitarist and lead vocalist Stevie Ray Vaughan. Originally consisting of drummer Chris Layton and bassist Tommy Shannon, Reese Wynans would later join the outfit on keyboards.-History:...
. Mindelis counts Otis Redding
Otis Redding
Otis Ray Redding, Jr. was an American soul singer-songwriter, record producer, arranger and talent scout. He is considered one of the major figures in soul and R&B...
and Johnny Winter
Johnny Winter
John Dawson "Johnny" Winter III is an American blues guitarist, singer, and producer. Best known for his late 1960s and 1970s high-energy blues-rock albums and live performances, Winter also produced three Grammy Award-winning albums for blues legend Muddy Waters...
among his musical influences.
Life and career
Mindelis became a guitar enthusiast at the age of 5. By the age of 9 he began building and playing self-made guitars. A primary influence at that time was Otis ReddingOtis Redding
Otis Ray Redding, Jr. was an American soul singer-songwriter, record producer, arranger and talent scout. He is considered one of the major figures in soul and R&B...
and his rhythm section, Booker T. & the MG's.
In 1990, an independent recording he had made began to receive airplay
Airplay
* Airplay is the amount of time a song is played on the radio.It may also refer to:* AirPlay, an audio & video streaming technology from Apple Inc.* Airplay , Foster & Graydon music project from 1980* Citroën C1, Citroën C1 Airplay...
on local radio station
Radio station
Radio broadcasting is a one-way wireless transmission over radio waves intended to reach a wide audience. Stations can be linked in radio networks to broadcast a common radio format, either in broadcast syndication or simulcast or both...
s. In 1991, he recorded his debut solo album
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
, Blues & Derivados, which received positive reviews in Brazilian media. In 1992, he recorded his second solo album, Long Distance Blues for Movieplay Records. In this album Mindelis was joined by Larry McCray
Larry McCray
Larry McCray is an American blues guitarist and singer.-Biography:McCray, the second youngest of nine siblings, grew up living on a farm. McCray learned guitar from his sister, Clara. "She used to play real low-down and dirty", McCray recalled years later...
, and the French
French people
The French are a nation that share a common French culture and speak the French language as a mother tongue. Historically, the French population are descended from peoples of Celtic, Latin and Germanic origin, and are today a mixture of several ethnic groups...
harmonica player, J.J. Milteau. As part of his promotional tour for the album, Mindelis played at a blues festival
Music festival
A music festival is a festival oriented towards music that is sometimes presented with a theme such as musical genre, nationality or locality of musicians, or holiday. They are commonly held outdoors, and are often inclusive of other attractions such as food and merchandise vending machines,...
in São Paulo
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...
, featuring Robert Cray
Robert Cray
Robert Cray is an American blues guitarist and singer. A five-time Grammy Award winner, he has led his own band, as well as an acclaimed solo career.-Career:...
, Otis Clay
Otis Clay
Otis Clay is an American R&B and soul singer, who started in gospel music.-Life and career:...
, Ronnie Earl
Ronnie Earl
Ronnie Earl is an American blues guitarist and music instructor.-Career:Earl collected blues, jazz, rock and soul records while growing up. He studied American History at C.W...
, Lonnie Brooks
Lonnie Brooks
Lonnie Brooks is an American blues singer and guitarist. He was born in Dubuisson, Louisiana, United States...
and Bo Diddley
Bo Diddley
Ellas Otha Bates , known by his stage name Bo Diddley, was an American rhythm and blues vocalist, guitarist, songwriter , and inventor...
.
In 1994, Guitar Player
Guitar Player
Guitar Player is a popular magazine for guitarists founded in 1967. It contains articles, interviews, reviews and lessons of an eclectic collection of artists, genres and products. It has been in print since the late 1960s and during the 1980s, under editor Tom Wheeler, the publication was...
magazine profiled Mindelis. In the article, Jas Obrecht (the editor at the time) compared Mindelis to Jimmy Page
Jimmy Page
James Patrick "Jimmy" Page, OBE is an English multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, and record producer. He began his career as a studio session guitarist in London and was subsequently a member of The Yardbirds from 1966 to 1968, after which he founded the English rock band Led Zeppelin.Jimmy Page...
. Further recognition came in their May 1998 issue, as Mindelis was selected as "Best Blues Guitarist" in the 30th Anniversary Guitar Player competition. In 1995, Mindelis played at Antone's
Clifford Antone
Clifford Antone was the founder of a well-known Austin blues club, record label, and a mentor to Stevie Ray Vaughan, Jimmie Vaughan and numerous other musicians....
20th Anniversary in Austin, Texas
Austin, Texas
Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of :Texas and the seat of Travis County. Located in Central Texas on the eastern edge of the American Southwest, it is the fourth-largest city in Texas and the 14th most populous city in the United States. It was the third-fastest-growing large city in...
, opening for Guy Forsite and Junior Wells
Junior Wells
Junior Wells , born Amos Wells Blakemore Jr., was an American Chicago blues vocalist, harmonica player, and recording artist...
others. Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown and Storyville also performed at the event.
Later that year, Mindelis recorded his album Texas Bound, featuring Tommy Shannon and Chris Layton, of Stevie Ray Vaughan
Stevie Ray Vaughan
Stephen Ray "Stevie Ray" Vaughan was an American electric blues guitarist and singer. He was the younger brother of Jimmie Vaughan and frontman for Double Trouble, a band that included bassist Tommy Shannon and drummer Chris Layton. Born in Dallas, Vaughan moved to Austin at the age of 17 and...
's rhythm section, Double Trouble. Texas Bound was the 12th best selling album seller in Benelux
Benelux
The Benelux is an economic union in Western Europe comprising three neighbouring countries, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg. These countries are located in northwestern Europe between France and Germany...
.
In 1999, Mindelis released Blues On The Outside. Mindelis appeared at the 25th edition of the Montreal International Jazz Festival in 2001, and did other presentations in Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
, Ottawa
Ottawa
Ottawa is the capital of Canada, the second largest city in the Province of Ontario, and the fourth largest city in the country. The city is located on the south bank of the Ottawa River in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario...
. Mindelis played at the festival again in 2004, after the release of his album Twelve Hours, and again played Quebec and Ottawa, and also the Montremblant Blues Festival, sharing the stages with Keb' Mo'
Keb' Mo'
Keb' Mo is an American blues singer, guitarist, and songwriter, currently living in Nashville, Tennessee, United States.-Early life:From early on he had an appreciation for the blues and gospel music...
and Jimmy Vaughan. Andy Grieg in Canada's Real Blues magazine asked, "Is the new King of the blues a man based in Brazil?"
In 2005, Mindelis recorded the album, Outros Nonos, dedicated to Brazil, with all of the songs sung in Portuguese.
Discography
- Blues e Derivados (1989)
- Long Distance Blues (1992)
- Texas Bound (1996)
- Nuno Mindelis & the Cream Crackers (1998)
- Blues on the Outside (1999)
- Twelve Hours (2003)
- Outros Nunos (2005)
- Free Blues (2010)