Born into a family with close ties to music, Toninho Horta (born in Belo Horizonte in 1948) made his debut on the Brazilian music scene when, at the age of twenty-two, he moved to Rio de Janeiro and, shortly afterwards, joined the band of the renowned singer Elis Regina. His first major breakthrough, however, came in 1972, as a result of his significant contribution — on guitar, bass, percussion, vocals, and arrangement — to Milton Nascimento’s influential album Clube da Esquina. The album’s impact on both critical and popular taste gave rise to a stylistic sub-movement within the broader movement of modern Brazilian popular music that emerged during the 1960s and 1970s.

Following a period of intense collaboration within the Brazilian music scene, during which Horta developed creative partnerships with such important figures as Edu Lobo, Chico Buarque, Maria Bethânia, and Dori Caymmi, Toninho Horta began the internationalisation of his career by performing for the first time in the United States. From that point onwards, he was invited to collaborate with leading figures in the international jazz scene, including Pat Metheny, George Duke, and the vocal group Manhattan Transfer.

In 1980, Toninho Horta released his first solo album, making a strong impression on the artistic community and fostering creative relationships with some of the most prominent figures in jazz at the time, including Herbie Hancock, Toots Thielemans, and Wayne Shorter. Since then, the guitarist and composer from Minas Gerais has pursued a prolific career, resulting in the recording of approximately 40 albums and around 1,300 musical compositions across projects of widely differing natures and formats — from solo work and creative collaborations with other composers to projects with backing bands and orchestras.

At Guimarães Jazz, it will be in this latter format that Toninho Horta’s music will be presented, with the Guimarães Orchestra taking on the task of performing the arrangements and instrumentation that will complement the sophisticated and melodically rich compositions of this highly regarded guitarist. Alongside Horta and the members of the orchestra will be three outstanding musicians from the new generation of the contemporary Brazilian jazz scene: drummer Lucas Casacio (returning to Guimarães), and multi-instrumentalists Danilo Penteado and Rafael Martini.