Carlos do Carmo, ComIH is a Portuguese fado singer, one of the finest in the
"Lisbon Song". He is the son of another fado singer and fado house owner,
Lucília do Carmo. He began singing and recording in 1963,
with the release of the EP record "Mario Simoes e o seu Quarteto Apresentando
Carlos do Carmo", and, still in 1963, the record "Carlos do Carmo e Orquestra
de Joaquim Luiz Gomes". Until the end of the decade he released another eleven
records. With the arrival of the 1970s came success at home and abroad,
releasing close to thirty records during that decade.
In 1976, he won the Portuguese Song Contest, with "Uma flor de verde pinho".
The song finished 12th in the Eurovision Song Contest 1976.
His most famous songs are Lágrimas de Orvalho, Lisboa Menina e Moça and Canoas
do Tejo. He sang many songs written by songwriters like Ary dos Santos. He
helped to open Lisbon Fado to other musical influences, like jazz and French
music, as well as adding the orchestra to the traditional Fado guitar trio or
quartet. He has established his own reputation as
a passionate singer of Portuguese folk songs, as well as one of the most
distinctive voices in the world. He first left Lisbon in his youth, to study
hotel management in Switzerland but, with the death of his father Alfredo de
Almeida in 1962, do Carmo soon joined his mother to help her run their fado
house, the Faia. In 1964 he married Maria Judite de Sousa Leal. Encouraged
by his friends' response to his singing, do Carmo soon began to perform at the
fado house. While fado remains at the core of his music, do Carmo has used
Frank Sinatra-style and French-style pop balladry and Brazilian bossa nova to
give his music its distinct flavor. His uniqueness, apart from the special
timbre of his voice, is in his ability to bring composers from other styles
such as jazz. This is mainly seen in his success Um Homem na Cidade, which
although now known as a fado classic, has an obvious jazz chord progression.
His main successes came in the 1970s, as he was one of the most prominent singers
commemorating freedom during the Lisbon uprising of 1974, along with Fernando
Tordo and Paulo de Carvalho amongst others. In the 1980s, his remarkable Um
Homem no País was the first CD ever recorded in Portugal. He has worked
closely and nurtured the development of other fado singers such as Mariza and
Camané. Carlos do Carmo, "The Ambassador of Fado", was instrumental in making
Fado part of UNESCO's World Heritage Cultural Patrimony via countless
concerts and the recording for Carlos Saura's film on fado, which premiered in
2007 at the Toronto International Film Festival. Performances in the Royal
Albert Hall, Paris Olympia, Carnegie Hall and Salle Pleyel are just part of
his vast gig curriculum. His great classics include Bairro Alto, Gaivota,
Canoas Do Tejo, Os Putos and Estrela Da Tarde.
In 2010 he performed a special concert in Lisbon, singing songs made famous by
Frank Sinatra, with the backing of the Count Basie Orchestra directed by Dennis
Mackrel. The concert was "the fulfilment of a dream" according to Carlos do
Carmo, and it took place on the 10th of November at Pavilhão Atlântico.
After releasing, in 2011, a record with jazz pianist Bernardo Sassetti, it has
been announced that Carlos do Carmo and pianist Maria João Pires are recording a
new Fado and Piano record to be released by Deutsche Grammophon before the end of
2012. Carlos do Carmo celebrated 50 years of
his career in 2013. In 2014, do Carmo received a Latin Grammy Lifetime
Achievement Award for his music career in Las Vegas making him the first
Portuguese artist to receive a Latin Grammy Award.
He was created a Commander of the Order of Prince Henry.
His children are singer Cila do Carmo de Almeida, Alfredo do Carmo de Almeida and
singer Gil do Carmo de Almeida. References
External links :: Carlos do Carmo ::
Carlos do Carmo in a Portuguese Genealogical site