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GRAMMY-NOMINATED guitarist and composer Anthony Wilson and Brazilian based guitarist Chico Pinheiro, join forces for a new project called "Nova" which explores both Brazilian bossa nova and American jazz through a unique lens. About Anthony Wilson: Grammy-nominated guitarist/composer/arranger Anthony Wilson is one of the leading jazz musicians of his generation. He has recorded six solo albums since 1997, the most recent of which, Power of Nine (2006, Groove Note) was included in The New Yorker's roundup of the top ten jazz recordings of the year. A sensitive and gifted accompanist as well as a formidable soloist, Anthony Wilson has been an indispensable member of Diana Krall's band since he joined her in 2001 for a series of performances at Paris's Olympia Theater that were collected on the Grammy-winning CD/DVD Live In Paris (Verve), already widely considered a classic. Recent recordings and live appearances with Madeleine Peyroux, Al Jarreau, and Aaron Neville have served to spotlight Wilsonís growing artistry, musical flexibility, and improvisational authority. Bennie Wallace, Larry Goldings, Joe Henry, Harold Land, Chris Botti, the Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra, and his father, legendary composer/arranger/bandleader Gerald Wilson, are just a few of the well-respected musicians with whom Anthony Wilson has forged fruitful, lasting partnerships. A skilled, inspired composer and arranger with a deep understanding of tradition and an equal willingness to take risks, Wilson won the Thelonious Monk Institute International Composers Competition in 1995, and has received numerous commissions for small- and large-scale original works. Every year since 2000, Anthony Wilsonís considerable talents as a "triple-threat" guitarist/composer/arranger have landed him at the top levels of all three of those categories in Downbeat Magazine's International Critic's poll. www.myspace.com/anthonywilsonmusic www.anthonywilsonmusic.com About Chico Pinheiro: One of the leading figures in new Brazilian music, guitarist/composer/arranger Chico Pinheiro was born in Sao Paulo. As a child, he was drawn to diverse styles of music such as Brazilian music (in all its manifestations), classical, jazz, progressive rock. It was all a part of his home environment, either through LPs or at frequent musical parties hosted by his mother, where people would get together to play an extensive Brazilian repertoire. Self-taught, Pinheiro started playing the guitar and the piano when he was 7 years old. He rounded-out his musical education with a stay in Boston, where he received his music degree from Berklee College of Music, studying with legendary teachers Mick Goodrick and Hal Crook. Not only an exceptional guitarist with a lovely sound and great fluidity, Chico Pinheiro is a composer of originality and maturity, qualities that come to the fore on his solo recordings. His first album "Meia Noite Meio Dia" (Seven/Sony Music) was released in 2003. This well-received debut included performances from special guest vocalists Luciana Alves, Lenine, Ed Motta, Chico César, and Maria Rita. Released in 2005, "Chico Pinheiro" (Biscoito Fino) enjoyed great critical and audience acclaim. Only 33 years old, Chico has already performed and recorded with the "cream" of Brazilian artists such as Chico César, Rosa Passos, Luciana Souza, Dori and Danilo Caymmi, João Donato, and César Camargo Mariano, and is well on his way to being considered one of them. www.chicopinheiro.com.br www.myspace.com/chicopinheiro About "Nova" (written by Anthony Wilson) In early 2005, when a local photographer approached me at a post-concert meet-and-greet in São Paulo, bearing the debut CD of a young Brazilian guitarist/composer who (he explained) was a fan of mine, but whose work I was unaware of, I couldn’t have imagined that a mere 24 months later, this guitarist and I would have completed a collaborative recording, and be planning our first concert tour together. At that time, already in love with the sounds of Brazil—from Afro-Brazilian songs and traditional Samba, through the lively Chorinho and sleek Bossa Nova, all the way to modern Brazilian pop (MPB)— I was steadily soaking up as much of that country’s music as I could, and was open to any and all discoveries. Returning home and listening through the stack of CDs I had acquired while in Brazil, I was especially surprised, impressed, and inspired by the sounds I heard on that recording, titled “Meia-Noite Meio- Dia.” Not only was this a contemporary composer writing beautiful themes with a deep and complex understanding of harmony while addressing many of the various strains of Brazilian musical tradition; this was also a gifted, modern, improvising guitarist, obviously steeped in the best of our American Jazz guitar lineage, whose playing contained knowing nods to players such as George Benson, Pat Metheny, and Jim Hall. Chico Pinheiro’s music resonated with me immediately, and I got in touch with him to tell him so. Establishing a quick rapport through email correspondence, we swapped recommendations of our favorite recordings, and thoughts about musical process, different players and approaches, a ton of music-geek stuff. Our similarities were easy to see! During the fall, I began planning a New Year’s vacation in Brazil, and my final stop was a three-day stay with Chico and his lovely girlfriend and frequent vocal collaborator Luciana Alves. We played nonstop. Well, we did stop—for the wonderful Brazilian beer and food, and the warm social interaction that is at the heart of Brazilian life. That visit made it clear that we needed to record together, and the following months had us communicating often about how to make it happen, and considering repertoire that we might record. The sessions were convened in São Paulo in June of 2006, with some of Brazil’s finest young musicians: Edu Ribeiro on drums, Fabio Torres on keyboards, Paulo Paulelli on double bass, Marcelo Mariano on electric bass, Swami Jr. on 7-string guitar, and Armando Marçal on percussion. Dori Caymmi and Ivan Lins had already agreed to add their vocals to two songs, and, later on, Cesar Camargo Mariano (Elis Regina’s musical director for many years) insisted on adding some contributions of his own to the project. The result is a recording that is not simply Brazilian or simply Jazz. This collection contains echoes of all the music that we love, in a mix of original songs and carefully chosen covers by three great composers we admire, Wayne Shorter, João Donato, and Dorival Caymmi. Chico and I are proud to present, in concert and on record, what is hopefully the first of a series of rich collaborations, bridging two continents and two cultures, reflecting our love for the crafts of composition and arranging, the joy of fine ensemble playing, and the beauty of our chosen instrument. --- Anthony Wilson