Quick Facts
Aquarius
Biography
Yamandu Costa (born January 24, 1980 in Passo Fundo), sometimes misspelled Yamandú, is a Brazilian guitarist and composer. His main instrument is the violão de 7 cordas, the Brazilian seven-stringed nylon guitar.
Yamandu began to study guitar at age seven with his father, Algacir Costa, leader of the group Os Fronteiriços (The Frontiersmen) and mastered the instrument after studying with Lúcio Yanel, an Argentine virtuoso who lived in Brazil. At age fifteen, Yamandu began study Brazilian Southern folk music, Argentina and Uruguay.
Influenced by the music of Radamés Gnattali, he began to study the music of other Brazilians, such as Baden Powell de Aquino, Tom Jobim and Raphael Rabello.
At age seventeen he played in São Paulo for the first time at the Cultural Circuit Bank of Brazil which was produced by the Study Tone Brazil. Yamandu came to be recognized as the musician who revived Brazilian guitar music.
Yamandu's diverse execution styles include styles like chorinho, bossa nova, milonga, tango, samba and chamamé, making him difficult to categorize into a single genre.
Yamandu appeared in Mika Kaurismäki's 2005 documentary film Brasileirinho.
Awards
- Prêmio Tim - Best Soloist - 2004
- Free Jazz Festival 2001 - Rio and São Paulo
- Guitar Festival of Chile - 2001
- Winner of the Prêmio Visa, Instrumental edition - 2001
- Circuito Cultural Banco do Brasil - 1999
- Participation at the Nashville Festival - 1998
- Trophy of Instrumental Music Revelation of the Rio Grande do Sul state
- 25º Award of Best Instrumentalist of the Rio Grande do Sul state
- Show in Montevidéu - 1998
- Tour in Buenos Aires - 1998
- Winner of the Prêmio Califórnia of Uruguaiana - 1995
Discography
- 2015 – Tocata à Amizade
- 2013 – Continente
- 2011 – Yamandu Costa e Rogério Caetano
- 2008 – Mafuá
- 2007 – Lida
- 2007 – Yamandu + Dominguinhos
- 2007 – Ida e Volta
- 2006 – Tokyo Session
- 2005 – Música do Brasil Vol.I (DVD)
- 2005 – Yamandu Costa ao Vivo (DVD)
- 2005 – Brasileirinho
- 2004 – El Negro Del Blanco / Yamandu Costa e Paulo Moura
- 2003 – Yamandu ao Vivo
- 2001 – Yamandu / Prêmio Visa
- 2000 – Dois Tempos / Lúcio Yanel e Yamandu Costa