Brazilian Composer in HCA Gallery Concert Aug. 25

On these hot summer days it's tempting to imagine a vacation. Just visualize taking a beach break in Rio de Janeiro, with the sounds of samba and choro wafting across the waves…

Too far away? Then check into the on Plaza Street on Saturday, Aug. 25, for a solo concert from celebrated Brazilian composer, singer and master guitarist, Guinga.

But Guinga is not a Jimmy Buffet or even Jobim. His is a unique and personal talent, stretching the definitions of song with complex yet appealing compositions that put him at the top of Brazil's modern artists.

This is not the first time Guinga has come to Healdsburg, according to Healdsburg Jazz Festival artistic director Jessica Felix. That was in 2005 at the . "He came that time on a mini-tour and I was fortunate to be one of the few to have the opportunity to present him," said Felix.

A Brazilian quartet played that night; this time Guinga will be flying solo.

"This time he is coming to teach at the California Brazil Camp [in Cazadero], and this is the only concert he will perform outside of the camp. He rarely performs solo, but I asked if he would do this and he agreed."

Although most popular composers are usually associated with specific songs, Guinga established his reputation primarily on his unique sound. "Like Kurt Weill and Nino Rota—two other composers who are instantly recognizable by their sound—Guinga straddles an indefinable line between pop and serious music," wrote Berkeley's Daniella Thompson in Brazzil magazine.

She goes on to quote singer Mônica Salmaso's opinion.

"Guinga is for me like Dorival Caymmi, Chico Buarque, and Edu Lobo... One-hundred percent of what he creates is of indisputable beauty. He’s a composer whose music enchanted me as soon as I heard it. There are some composers who create music that doesn’t age. Songs that are for our entire lifetime, that we call classics. The music of Guinga is like that, eternally beautiful and profoundly true."

Felix, Thompson and Salmaso are not the only ones who hold the 62-year old Brazilian in such high regard. "Guinga is like Villa-Lobos meets Cole Porter," Sergio Mendes wrote when he recorded two Guinga compositions for his Grammy Award-winning album Brasileiro.

Ironically, it's not as a composer, singer or guitarist that Guinga, whose given name is Carlos Althier de Souza Lemos Escobar, made his living. For many years he was a dentist during office hours, which shows that even in Brazil musicians need to have a day job to make it. 

Further irony: because of his pale skin, Carlos was called "gringo" by his childhood friends in the working class suburb of Rio de Janeiro where he grew up. Hence the nickname "Guinga." Today he is indisputably well-tanned.

For the past two decades, Guinga's music has generated the sales, awards and fans to make him a part of nearly every major Brazilian artist's repertoire.   The musician has received two Latin Grammy nominations, and won multiple Premio Sharp Awards, the Brazilian equivalent of the Grammy.

There will be two concerts, one at 7 and one at 9, with separate $25 admission for each. As rare solo performances, they promise a warm, intimate evening with one of the elite Brazilian musicians.

Summarized Felix: "This is the greatest way to hear a composer interpret his music: the man, his voice and his guitar."

The shows at the Healdsburg Center for the Arts will benefit the s education and other programs.

Tickets are $25, available at the Healdsburg Center for the Arts on 130 Plaza St. during their regular hours (daily 11:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.), or online at the HJF website.