Serenata There was a time, on moonlit nights, when troubadours passed below windows to serenade the ladies of their heartfelt devotion. How wonderful it is indeed to put into verse, the very sentiments which one has always felt towards a loved one. It is in the spirit of this serenade that the present work was inspired. It brings together the finest of Brazilian music, imbued with romanticism and sensuality, written by some of the most “Brazilian” of Brazilian composers. Paulo Bellinati dedicated his previous CD The Guitar Works of Garoto to the great guitarist “Garoto” (Annibal Augusto Sardinha) who in the early ’50s, together with the great Radamés Gnattali, created the music from which the famous Bossa Nova was later derived. It is a joyous experience to hear Bellinati’s superb interpretations as he performs the works of Garoto, Gnattali, myself… With fantastic, precise technique, Paulo is a master of the guitar. His arrangements are transparent and his compositions clearly show him to be a mature musician, capable of realizing that very difficult mixture; the subtleties of classical music blended with the popular music idiom. Simply stated, Serenata is a very beautiful recording, and a very Brazilian happening. — Antonio Carlos Jobim When I was 13 years of age, I listened to one of Dilermando Reis’ recordings for the first time. It was Abismo de Rosas a beautiful guitar album of Brazilian serenade waltzes—most of them composed by Dilermando himself. I started playing the guitar at that time, driven by the pleasure of discovering this music. This album is dedicated to Laurindo de Almeida and his incredible work for the guitar and Brazilian music. My very special thanks to Sergio Saraceni and Antonio Carlos Jobim. My sincere thanks to Paul Mitchell, Fernanda de Castro, Lelo Nazário, Nelson Ayres, Luiz Roberto Oliveira, Dean Kamei and all of my friends at GSP. PAULO BELLINATI produced by Dean Kamei recorded by Teja Bell at Samurai Sound / Petaluma, California mixed by John Strother at Penguin Recording / Eagle Rock, California assisted by Rose Landauer mastered by Dave Schultz at DigiPrep / Hollywood, California photo by Alexandre Sardá ABOUT PAULO BELLINATI Born in São Paulo in 1950, Paulo Bellinati is recognized as one of Brazil’s top contemporary artists. After graduating from the Conservatory “Dramatico e Musical” of São Paulo, where he studied classical guitar with Isaias Savio, he lived for six years in Switzerland, continuing his musical studies at the Conservatory of Geneva and teaching at the Conservatory of Lausanne. He has recorded and performed with many important Brazilian musicians including Gal Costa, Leila Pinheiro, Caetano Veloso, Vania Bastos, Edu Lobo, Chico Buarque, and his group Paul Brasil. He won Brazil’s equivalent of a Grammy, the 1994 “Premio Sharp,” for his arranging of Gal Costa’s CD O Sorriso do Gato de Alice. In 1988, Paulo Bellinati won the first prize for composition with his solo guitar piece Jongo, at the “8th Carrefour Mondial de La Guitare” in Martinique. His arrangements and compositions are published and distributed worldwide by Guitar Solo Publications (GSP) of San Francisco and are being recorded and performed by many guitarists including John Williams, Timothy Kain, Eduardo Isaac, Cristina Azuma, Sergio and Odair Assad, and Carlos Barbosa-Lima. The Guitar Works of Garoto (GSP/1991), a CD and two volumes of printed music, the result of many years of Bellinati’s research on the brilliant Brazilian guitarist/composer Anibal Augusto Sardinha (Garoto), has been acknowledged as a work of great historical significance and received a 5-star rating from CD Review magazine. Other GSP Recordings by Paulo Bellinati include Lira Brasileira, The Guitar Works of Garoto, A Felicidade, and Afro-Sambas (in duo with Brazilian Vocalist Monica Salmaso)