Biographie

Renato Velasco was born in Rio de Janeiro in the artistic district of Santa Teresa.

Il débute ses études de guitare classique à l'école de musique Villa-Lobos avec le professeur Nestor de Hollanda et suit des cours particuliers d'harmonie et d’improvisation avec Adamo Prince, Nelson Farias et Flavio Goulart.

Il débute sa carrière en tant que guitariste accompagnateur dans des groupes de choro et des orchestres de bal à Rio. Parallèlement, il participe aux concerts des groupes de son quartier en jouant de la MPB (musique populaire brésilienne) ainsi que ses propres compositions. Il y joue de la guitare acoustique et électrique ainsi que du cavaquinho, une mini-guitare traditionnelle à 4 cordes.

En 1987, il intègre le prestigieux orchestre du maestro Guio de Morais au Music-Hall Scala à Rio.

The departure in France.

En 1989, il part en France où il poursuit sa carrière de soliste, arrangeur et chef d'orchestre dans différentes formations de musique brésilienne.

Interprète s'inscrivant dans la continuité des guitaristes comme João Pernambuco, Garoto, Baden Powell ou Marco Pereira, il est également compositeur.

A Paris, il fait des recherches et crée de nouvelles formes de compositions, inspirées de l'atmosphère culturelle française.

In 1992, he returned to Rio and moved back to his native district of Santa Teresa to direct a cultural space, "la Cave de Paris", a piano bar with themed evenings, where live music groups from different styles: Brazilian music, but also French song, Latin American music, jazz and funk, groove etc.

This project lasts three years and is very successful.

Back in France in 1995, he formed the Rio Dancing Orquestra with 8 musicians.

This orchestra hosts warm balls in many performance venues such as the New Morning, the Salle Globo, the Maison du Brésil, the Brasil Tropical, etc.

Photo caption: Jam session at the Cave de Paris, 1993 - Rio de Janeiro

In the 2000s, he decided to broaden his knowledge of jazz and classical.

He perfected his technique by studying the interpretation of the classical guitar with professor Michel Pons at the conservatory of St Maur-les-Fossés and by following jazz improvisation courses in Paris. In 2004, he obtained his State diploma as a music teacher and created his first teaching workshops in Paris.

In 2005, he launched his first solo album Brazilian guitar under the Sunset-France label in collaboration with percussionist Dada Viana. This album is a set of original compositions that take us through the different rhythms of Brazil: choro, samba, baião, musica caipira, etc.

In 2006, under the same label, he released a second album entitled Brazil Legend Titles, a collection of covers of internationally renowned Brazilian standards.

The same year, the Henry Lemoine editions published his first guitar method entitled "Brazilian guitar"detailing with precision a hundred traditional rhythms from the five regions of Brazil.

Renato Velasco is an original guitarist whose musical work is a happy combination of traditional Brazilian music, improvised music and classical music.

This cultural mix is the richness of his compositions and the magic of his concerts.

In 2007, he began to expand his creativity with two new instruments: the 7-string guitar and the viola caipira, a 10-string viol.

At the same time, he began to teach classical guitar in the Music Conservatories of Ile-de-France. At the same time, the ATLA school in Paris entrusted him with Brazilian guitar classes.

In 2009, he launched the Camerata by Renato Velasco, with a string trio (violin, viola and cello), transverse flute and percussion, performing his compositions and arrangements.

In 2015, he launched the Brasil Social Club, a concert-ball orchestra performing a repertoire of traditional and modern music as well as new compositions by Renato.