Hello,

I am helping acclaimed Brazilian Jazz pianist Dom Salvador to raise funds to pay for the creation of his biography.

The writer will be Brazilian journalist Carlos Calado, who is an expert in Brazilian music. Dom Salvador has had an amazing career and life, and the documentation of his story and history deserves to be preserved.

Olá,

Estou ajudando o aclamado pianista de jazz e compositor brasileiro Dom Salvador a arrecadar fundos para custear a pesquisa e a redação de sua biografia. O autor do livro será o jornalista brasileiro Carlos Calado, especialista em música brasileira e jazz. Essa biografia será lançada nos Estados Unidos e no Brasil. 



Aos 86 anos de uma vida incrível, Dom Salvador segue desenvolvendo uma obra musical com referências brasileiras e norte-americanas, que tem sido celebrada mundialmente. Sua história merece ser narrada e preservada para as próximas gerações.

About Dom Salvador:

Dom Salvador is an award-winning Brazilian jazz pianist, composer, and arranger. His previous album, The Art of Samba Jazz, won the 2012 BRAZILIAN MUSIC AWARD for Best Instrumental Album. Eubie Blake heard his music and wrote him in a letter in 1977: “I like your style of playing.” Salvador da Silva was born in Rio Claro, in the state of São Paulo. In 1961, Dom Salvador was invited by the drummer Dom Um Romão to join the group Copa Trio and performed in the famous jazz scene of Beco Das Garrafas (Rio’s 52nd Street). He also accompanied other young artists such as Quarteto em Cy, Jorge Ben, and Elis Regina, and recorded the latter’s fifirst album, Samba - Eu Canto Assim. He would later go on to participate in recordings with Elza Soares, Sylvia Telles, Edu Lobo, Ro- berto Carlos, and the last album of the legendary composer and saxophonist Pixinguinha. From 1966 to 1973, Dom Salvador was the offificial pianist for the Brazilian label Odeon, and participated in hundreds of recordings with leading Brazilian artists of the time. In 1973, Dom Salvador moved to the US, and since then, he has recorded with Charlie Rouse, Paul Horn, Ron Carter and Egberto Gismonti. Dom Salvador also participated in Harry Belafonte’s European tour as an artistic director, performing for Queen Elizabeth II’s 25th Jubilee. For the past 42 years, he has been the in house pianist for the renowned The River Café. His Rio 65 trio 50th anniversary celebration at Carnegie Hall was recently released digitally as “Dom Salvador & Rio 65 Trio live in Zankel Hall at Carnegie Hall.” The Dom Salvador Samba Jazz Sextet recently headlined at Central Park Summerstage in 2021, The Lodge Room in Los Angeles, CA in 2022, and recently performed in Dakar, Senegal in 2024. Dom Salvador was also the subject of a documentary which was released in 2021 entitled “Dom Salvador and Abolition.”

Dom Salvador: hero of samba-jazz and Brazilian black music

By Carlos Calado

Many of those who frequent the River Café, in New York, do not even suspect that the 86-year-old pianist, who has played at this sophisticated restaurant on the edge of the Brooklyn Bridge for almost half a century, is a hero to several generations of fans of his music.

An exponent of the first generation of samba-jazz, in the 1960s, the talented leader and composer of the Rio 65 Trio already enjoyed prestige in the circles of bossa nova and Brazilian music. His musical collaborations with high-end artists, such as Elis Regina, Jorge Ben, Elza Soares, Edu Lobo, Marcos Valle and Sylvinha Teles, were his best calling cards.

In 1970, Dom Salvador created and led the innovative Banda Abolição, a pioneer band in the fusions of samba with American black music. Formed only by black musicians, Abolição faced the racial prejudice of Brazilian society, which even existed among their colleagues of the musical world.

“Som, Sangue e Raça”, the only album recorded by this band from Rio de Janeiro, released in 1971, is considered a great classic of Brazilian popular music of black influence. His musical conception inspired later musical projects of black lineage, such as the group Senzala and, later, the highly successful Banda Black Rio.

With his decision to settle in the United States, in 1973, Salvador started to realize his plan of seeing his music recognized in American jazz circles, but he also paid a high price for it: he spent three decades without performing in his country.

On the other hand, since 1977, Salvador has maintained the feat of playing regularly at the River Café, where he has been admired by celebrities from the artistic world, such as singer Tony Bennett, pianists Herbie Hancock and McCoy Tyner, filmmaker Spike Lee and actor Paul Newman. His repertoire at River Café combines jazz and bossa nova standards, a little classical music and, naturally, his original compositions, among the thousands of songs he keeps in his prodigious memory.

In 2015, Salvador realized one of his biggest dreams: he celebrated the 50th anniversary of his Rio 65 Trio, alongside double bassist Sérgio Barrozo and drummer Duduka da Fonseca, in a concert on the stage of the legendary Carnegie Hall, in New York. This performance is recorded on the album “Dom Salvador & Rio 65 Trio in Zankell Hall at Carnegie Hall”, released in 2019.

Carlos Calado is a music journalist and wrote books about jazz and Brazilian music.

Dom Salvador: herói do samba-jazz e da música negra brasileira

Por Carlos Calado

Muitos dos frequentadores do River Café, em New York, nem desconfiam que o pianista de 86 anos, que toca nesse sofisticado restaurante à beira da ponte do Brooklin há quase meio século, é um herói para diversas gerações de fãs e admiradores de sua música.

Expoente da primeira geração do samba-jazz, na década de 1960, o talentoso líder e compositor do Rio 65 Trio já desfrutava de grande prestígio nos meios da bossa nova e da música brasileira. Suas colaborações musicais com artistas de alto quilate, como Elis Regina, Jorge Ben, Elza Soares, Edu Lobo, Marcos Valle e Sylvinha Teles, eram seus melhores cartões de visita. Em 1970, Dom Salvador criou e liderou a inovadora Banda Abolição, pioneira nas fusões do samba com a black music americana. Formada somente por músicos negros, a Abolição enfrentou o preconceito estrutural da sociedade brasileira, existente até mesmo entre seus colegas do meio musical. “Som, Sangue e Raça”, o único álbum gravado por essa banda do Rio de Janeiro, lançado em 1971, é considerado um grande clássico da música popular brasileira de ascendência negra. Sua concepção musical inspirou projetos musicais posteriores que seguiram essa linhagem, como o grupo Senzala e, mais tarde, a Banda Black Rio, de grande sucesso. Com sua decisão de se radicar nos Estados Unidos, em 1973, Salvador realizou o sonho de ver sua música ser reconhecida nos meios do jazz norte-americano, mas também pagou um preço alto por isso: passou três décadas sem se apresentar nos palcos brasileiros. Por outro lado, desde 1977, Salvador mantem a proeza de tocar regularmente no River Café, onde já foi aplaudido por celebridades do mundo artístico, como o cantor Tony Bennett, os pianistas Herbie Hancock e McCoy Tyner, o cineasta Spike Lee e o ator Paul Newman. Seu repertório no River Café combina standards do jazz e da bossa nova, um pouco de música clássica e, naturalmente, suas originais composições, entre os milhares de canções que ele conserva em sua prodigiosa memória.

Em 2015, Salvador realizou um de seus maiores sonhos: comemorou os 50 anos de seu Rio 65 Trio, ao lado do contrabaixista Sérgio Barrozo e do baterista Duduka da Fonseca, em um concerto no palco do lendário Carnegie Hall, em New Yorl. Essa apresentação está registrada no álbum “Dom Salvador & Rio 65 Trio in Zankell Hall at Carnegie Hall, lançado em 2019.