Samuel Quinto

SAMUEL QUINTO AND LATIN JAZZ

Samuel Quinto is an exceptional piano player, his virtuoso, often percussive playing, often with a continuous "tumbao", the rhtyhmical bass figure, accompanying the other soloists improvisations as well as his own, is intoxicating. His compositions, influenced among others by Michel Camilo, Chick Corea and Gonzalo Rubalcaba, are original own melodies which can have - like "on call" - different colourings, depending on the ethnic or geographic origin of theme, dance or title.

Hard to believe that Samuel Quinto is self-taught - his prodigy tale goes like this:

Born in Belem/Pará, North-Brasil, and raised in Salvador da Bahía. The gospel singing in the Baptist church "Igreja Batista Sinai", which the family regularly visits, is accompanied by various good piano players, and the seven year old boy is fascinated by them, wants to learn to play everything that they can play, and wants to become a better piano player than the best of them. All alone, only by ear, he teaches himself everything. In his parents' house there is a piano.