Baden Powell de Aquino
was born August 6, 1937 in Varre-e-Sai.
At the age of seven he started to play classical guitar. At the age of fourteen
he got a diploma at the conservatory in Rio. By fifteen he was a professional musician, by twenty he was a famous composer.
Important for his musical development was his father Lilo, his teacher Jaime Florence, also the poets Vinicius de Moraes and
Paulo Cesar Pinheiro. Baden created the most famous brazilian songs of that period with these poets. Nowadays this songs belong
to the classics.
His album "Tristeza On Guitar" was in 1966 an international success. In 1967 he gave a concert at the
"Berliner Jazztage",
which was enthusiastically celebrated in Germany. From these days forward the german
audience honored and loved him.
In 1970 the "Baden Powell Quartet" started its first european and japan tour,
which was a big success. Many album releases showed an experimental and improvising musician who knew how to add baroque modulations
to his synthesis of samba and jazz music. In these days he made recordings of high musical quality, a fusion of afro-brazilian
and european music culture.
In the mid 70's Baden Powell got into a serious health crisis and his public appearances and
his recordings became rare. In 1983 he moved with his wife and his two sons to Baden-Baden and he lived some years retired.
With his solo performances in Europe he was able to resume older successes. Back to Brazil he recorded the album "Rio
das Valsas" in 1988, which had a great musical atmosphere and his interpretations became more mature.
In addition
to this he cared for the musical education of his sons Philippe-Baden and Louis-Marcel. In May 2000 he published one
of his last albums "Lembrancas", which is the legacy of a great master of the brazilian guitar.
He
died on September 26, 2000 in Rio de Janeiro.
