Flavio Venturini

Flávio Venturini developed noted solo work, along with his work in the 14 Bis, one of the most important contemporary vocal/instrumental groups in Brazil. A member of the Clube da Esquina group of composers from Minas Gerais, he has had his compositions recorded by Peter Gabriel, Milton Nascimento, Nana Caymmi, Beto Guedes, Leila Pinheiro, Jane Duboc, Emílio Santiago, and Simone, among others. His several hits include “Todo Azul do Mar,” “Caçador de Mim” (with Luís Carlos Sá), “Espanhola” (with Gutemberg Guarabyra), “Planeta Sonho” (with Vermelho/Márcio Borges), “Pensando em Você” (with Kimura), “Nascente” (with M. Antunes), and “Clube da Esquina 2” (with Lô Borges/Márcio Borges/Milton Nascimento). His first gold record as a solo artist was with his album Noites Com Sol (1994). Venturini started to study music at 15, taking up the accordion. After awhile, he enrolled at the Fundação de Educação Artística de Belo Horizonte (Minas Gerais), studying musical perception and piano. He would later study composition and arranging with Walter Smetak, Ernest Widmer, Bruno Kiefer, Ailton Escobar, Cláudia Cimbleris, and Rogério Duprat. His earliest performances happened in the ’60s in the Winter Festivals of Minas Gerais. In the ’70s, he participated with local bands such as the Shines, Os Turbulentos, and Crisalis that played balls. He also participated in the Festival Estudantil da Canção, Festival Universitário de Belo Horizonte (winning the second place), and the Festival Internacional da Canção/FIC (1970, International Song Festival, Rio de Janeiro). In that decade, he had already joined the group known as Clube da Esquina, performing in the shows Fio da Navalha with the composers from Minas Gerais state such as Lô Borges, Beto Guedes, Tavinho Moura, Toninho Horta, Vermelho, and Zé Eduardo, among others. After 1974, he became a member of O Terço when he moved to São Paulo. Having worked with that group until 1977, he had in this year his song “1974″ performed by the Royal Ballet of Canada in a tour through Canada and the U.S. His “Nascente” was included on Milton Nascimento’s LP Clube da Esquina No. 2 (an album on which he also participated as an instrumentalist). Venturini and Beto Guedes were invited on the tour that launched the album. In 1979, he formed the 14 Bis with Vermelho. Venturini’s solo career started in 1982 (kept in parallel with the work for the 14 Bis until 1987), a year in which he recorded the LP Nascente. Also in 1982, he started to write music for the cinema, having composed soundtracks for the award-winning films Quando Os Morcegos Se Calam, Viagem de Ônibus, and Instinto Animal. He also wrote soundtracks for the film Aleluia Gretchen (Sílvio Back) and for the play Hilda Furacão. In 1989, he participated in the Free Jazz Festival and performed at the Circo Voador with Toninho Horta in a show that was recorded and released in 1987. Following that, he performed several shows with Lô Borges, Zé Renato, Beto Guedes, and Wagner Tiso, including Minas Em Concerto. His earliest international performances happened in the ’90s in the U.S. and Canada. At Santiago de Compostela (Spain), Venturini participated in the Missa dos Quilombos during the commemoration of 500-year anniversary of the discovery of the Americas. ~ Alvaro Neder