Nico Assumpção (Antônio Álvaro Assumpção Neto) (August 13, 1954 in

São Paulo São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for 'Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the GaWC a ...

, Brazil – January 20, 2001 in

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...

), was a Brazilian

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range: ** Bass (instrument), including: ** Acoustic bass gui ...

player.

Biography

His father was a professional bass player, but Nico debuted in music by playing the

acoustic guitar An acoustic guitar is a musical instrument in the string family. When a string is plucked its vibration is transmitted from the bridge, resonating throughout the top of the guitar. It is also transmitted to the side and back of the instrument, ...

at the age of 10, having classes with

Paulinho Nogueira Paulinho Nogueira (Campinas, 8 October 1929 – São Paulo, 2 August 2003) was a Brazilian guitarist, composer and singer. Biography He was an eclectic composer, his influences ranging from bossa nova to Bach. Paulinho Nogueira designed the cr ...

. He changed to bass at 16, to fill in the void in a schoolmate's band. At age of 17, he went to the

U.S. The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

to study

harmony In music, harmony is the process by which individual sounds are joined together or composed into whole units or compositions. Often, the term harmony refers to simultaneously occurring frequencies, pitches ( tones, notes), or chords. However ...

and

orchestration Orchestration is the study or practice of writing music for an orchestra (or, more loosely, for any musical ensemble, such as a concert band) or of adapting music composed for another medium for an orchestra. Also called "instrumentation", orc ...

at the

University of California The University of California (UC) is a public land-grant research university system in the U.S. state of California. The system is composed of the campuses at Berkeley, Davis, Irvine, Los Angeles, Merced, Riverside, San Diego, San Francisco, ...

. Back in Brazil he went to study at CLAM, with famous Brazilian bassists Luis Chaves and

Amilton Godoy Amilton may refer to: * Amilton Prado (born 1979), Peruvian football defender * Amílton (footballer, born 1981), Brazilian football striker * Amilton (footballer, born 1989), Brazilian football right winger * Amilton Filho (born 1992), Belizean foo ...

. Later, in 1976, he again left Brazil and headed to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, willing to study and perform with his instrument at a deeper level. There, he played with several important musicians of the

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

scene, including

Wayne Shorter Wayne Shorter (born August 25, 1933) is an American jazz saxophonist and composer. Shorter came to prominence in the late 1950s as a member of, and eventually primary composer for, Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers. In the 1960s, he joined Miles Davi ...

Pat Metheny Patrick Bruce Metheny ( ; born August 12, 1954) is an American jazz guitarist and composer. He is the leader of the Pat Metheny Group and is also involved in duets, solo works, and other side projects. His style incorporates elements of progre ...

, Sadao Watanabe,

Larry Coryell Larry Coryell (born Lorenz Albert Van DeLinder III; April 2, 1943 – February 19, 2017) was an American jazz guitarist. Early life Larry Coryell was born in Galveston, Texas, United States. He never knew his biological father, a musician. He w ...

, Fred Hersh,

Larry Willis Lawrence Elliott Willis (December 20, 1942 – September 29, 2019) was an American jazz pianist and composer. He performed in a wide range of styles, including jazz fusion, Afro-Cuban jazz, bebop, and avant-garde jazz, avant-garde. Willis was b ...

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and

Charlie Rouse Charlie Rouse (April 6, 1924 – November 30, 1988) was an American hard bop tenor saxophonist and flautist. His career is marked by his collaboration with Thelonious Monk, which lasted for more than ten years. Biography Rouse was born in Wash ...

. In the US, he mastered various bass playing techniques, being one of the pioneers of fretless and 6-string bass in Brazil when he came back on 1981, the same year in which he released the first bassist solo album in the country, titled "Nico Assumpção". In 1982 he moved to

, where he lived for the rest of his life, and turned into one of the most popular bassists of the country among musicians and artists for recording and shows, having played and/or recorded with

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, Luiz Avellar, Wauke Wakabaiashi, Marco Pereira, Ricardo Silveira,

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Raphael Rabello Rafael Baptista Rabello (October 31, 1962 – April 27, 1995) was a virtuoso Brazilian guitarist and composer. During the 1980s and 1990s, he was considered one of the best acoustic guitar players in the world and played with many famous artists, ...

Léo Gandelman Léo Gandelman (born Leonardo Gandelman; August 10, 1956, in Rio de Janeiro) is a Brazilian saxophonist, composer and producer. He has played with Lulu Santos, and guest appeared in Titãs' single "Televisão (song), Televisão". He is also known ...

and Victor Biglione, among others. The bassist died at age 47, a cancer victim.

Discography

*Nico Assumpção 1981 Brazil *Luiz Avellar, Nico Assumpção e Kiko Freitas tocando Victor Assis Brasil 2000 Brazil *Nico Assumpção, Nelson Faria, Lincoln Cheib Três/Three 2000 Brazil

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Assumpcao, Nico 1954 births 2001 deaths Música Popular Brasileira musicians Brazilian bass guitarists Male bass guitarists 20th-century bass guitarists 20th-century male musicians