Nuno Mindelis (born August 7, 1957, in Cabinda,

Angola , national_anthem = " Angola Avante"() , image_map = , map_caption = , capital = Luanda , religion = , religion_year = 2020 , religion_ref = , coordina ...

), nicknamed "The Beast from Brazil", is an Angolan-born Brazilian

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the Afr ...

guitarist and singer-songwriter. Most of his recorded work has been sung in English; however, he recorded his 2006 album ''Outros Nunos'' in

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

, his native language. He has recorded two albums with the band Double Trouble. Mindelis counts

Otis Redding Otis Ray Redding Jr. (September 9, 1941 – December 10, 1967) was an American singer and songwriter. He is considered one of the greatest singers in the history of American popular music and a seminal artist in soul music and rhythm and blues. ...

and

Johnny Winter John Dawson Winter III (February 23, 1944 – July 16, 2014) was an American singer and guitarist. Winter was known for his high-energy blues rock albums and live performances in the late 1960s and 1970s. He also produced three Grammy Award-win ...

among his musical influences.

Life and career

Mindelis became a guitar enthusiast at the age of five. By the age of nine he began building and playing self-made guitars. A primary influence at that time was

and his rhythm section, Booker T. & the MG's. In 1990, an independent recording he had made began to receive

airplay Airplay is how frequently a song is being played through broadcasting on radio stations. A song which is being played several times every day (spins) would have a significant amount of airplay. Music which became very popular on jukeboxes, in n ...

on local radio stations. In 1991, he recorded his debut solo album, ''Blues & Derivados'', which received positive reviews in Brazilian media. In 1992, he recorded his second solo album, ''Long Distance Blues'' for Movieplay Records. In this album Mindelis was joined by

Larry McCray Larry McCray (born April 5, 1960), is an American blues guitarist and singing, singer from Magnolia, Arkansas. Early life McCray, the second youngest of nine siblings, grew up living on a farm.

, and the French harmonica player, J.J. Milteau. As part of his promotional tour for the album, Mindelis played at a blues

festival A festival is an event ordinarily celebrated by a community and centering on some characteristic aspect or aspects of that community and its religion or cultures. It is often marked as a local or national holiday, mela, or eid. A festival c ...

in São Paulo, featuring

Robert Cray Robert William Cray (born August 1, 1953) is an American blues guitarist and singer. He has led his own band and won five Grammy Awards. Early life Robert Cray was born on August 1, 1953, in Columbus, Georgia, while his father was stationed at ...

Otis Clay Otis Lee Clay (February 11, 1942 – January 8, 2016) was an American Rhythm and blues, R&B and Soul music, soul singer, who started in gospel music. In 2013, Clay was inducted to the Blues Hall of Fame. Early life Clay was born in Waxhaw, Miss ...

Ronnie Earl :''This article refers to the musician. For the district attorney of Travis County, Texas, see Ronnie Earle.'' Ronnie Earl (born Ronald Horvath, March 10, 1953, Queens, New York, United States) is an American blues guitarist and music instructor ...

Lonnie Brooks Lonnie Brooks (born Lee Baker Jr., December 18, 1933 – April 1, 2017) was an American blues singer and guitarist. The musicologist Robert Palmer, writing in ''Rolling Stone'', stated, "His music is witty, soulful and ferociously energetic, br ...

and

Bo Diddley Ellas McDaniel (born Ellas Otha Bates; December 30, 1928 – June 2, 2008), known professionally as Bo Diddley, was an American guitarist who played a key role in the transition from the blues to rock and roll. He influenced many artists, incl ...

. In 1994, ''

Guitar Player ''Guitar Player'' is an American popular magazine for guitarists, founded in 1967 in San Jose, California. It contains articles, interviews, reviews and lessons of an eclectic collection of artists, genres and products. It has been in print si ...

'' magazine profiled Mindelis. Further recognition came in their May 1998 issue, as Mindelis was selected as "Best Blues Guitarist" in the 30th Anniversary ''Guitar Player'' competition. In 1995, Mindelis played at Antone's 20th Anniversary in

Austin, Texas Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the county seat, seat and largest city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and Williamson County, Texas, Williamson co ...

, opening for Guy Forsite and

Junior Wells Junior Wells (born Amos Wells Blakemore Jr., December 9, 1934January 15, 1998) was an American singer, harmonica player, and recording artist. He is best known for his signature song "Messin' with the Kid" and his 1965 album ''Hoodoo Man Blues'' ...

others.

Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown (April 18, 1924 – September 10, 2005) was an American singer and multi-instrumentalist from Louisiana. He won a Grammy Award for Best Traditional Blues Album in 1983 for his album, ''Alright Again!''. Early life Br ...

and Storyville also performed at the event. Later that year, Mindelis recorded his album ''Texas Bound'', featuring Tommy Shannon and Chris Layton, of

Stevie Ray Vaughan Stephen Ray Vaughan (October 3, 1954 – August 27, 1990) was an American musician, best known as the guitarist and frontman of the blues rock trio Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble. Although his mainstream career spanned only seven years, ...

's rhythm section, Double Trouble. ''Texas Bound'' was the 12th best selling album seller in

Benelux The Benelux Union ( nl, Benelux Unie; french: Union Benelux; lb, Benelux-Unioun), also known as simply Benelux, is a politico-economic union and formal international intergovernmental cooperation of three neighboring states in western Europe: B ...

. In 1999, Mindelis released ''Blues on the Outside'' also featuring Double Trouble. Mindelis appeared at the 25th edition of the

Montreal International Jazz Festival The Festival International de Jazz de Montréal ( en, Montreal International Jazz Festival) is an annual jazz festival held in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The Montreal Jazz Fest holds the 2004 Guinness World Record as the world's largest jazz fest ...

in 2001, and did other presentations in

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

, Ottawa. Mindelis played at the festival again in 2004, after the release of his album ''Twelve Hours'', and again played Quebec and Ottawa, and also the Montremblant Blues Festival, sharing the stages with

Keb' Mo' Kevin Roosevelt Moore (born October 3, 1951), known as Keb' Mo', is an American blues musician and five-time Grammy Award winner. He is a singer, guitarist, and songwriter, living in Nashville, Tennessee. He has been described as "a living link ...

and

Jimmie Vaughan Jimmie Vaughan (born March 20, 1951) is an American blues rock guitarist and singer based in Austin, Texas. He is the older brother of the late Texas blues guitarist Stevie Ray Vaughan. Several notable blues guitarists have had a significant ...

. Andy Grieg in Canada's ''Real Blues'' magazine asked, "Is the new King of the blues a man based in Brazil?" In 2005, Mindelis recorded the album, ''Outros Nunos'', dedicated to Brazil, with all of the songs sung in Portuguese and including versions of Brazilian music standards. In 2010, he released ''Free Blues'', entirely produced and played by himself. The idea was to re-create blues and rock classics that so much influenced him in his adolescence times under a new approach, with the help of electronics and new elements, such as rap and other more contemporary effects. In 2013, the album ''Angels & Clowns'' was released by

Duke Robillard Michael John "Duke" Robillard (born October 4, 1948) is an American guitarist and singer. He founded the band Roomful of Blues and was a member of the Fabulous Thunderbirds. Although Robillard is known as a rock and blues guitarist, he also play ...

's / Finkelstein's label Duchess Blue / Shining Stone, produced by Duke Robillard who also played in the record. In 2014, he again performed at the Montreal International Jazz Festival, followed by a tour in several cities of Quebec. In 2018, Mindelis recorded his first live album during the Suwalki Blues Festival in Poland, where he was a headliner alongside Eric Burdon & The Animals, Billy Gibbons, Mavis Staples. Mindelis is now in the Suwalki Festival's Walk of Fame. In 2020, was the gradual release of the album, ''Angola Blues'', a tribute to the country where he was born and lived until he was 17 years old, Angola. The first single "Cabinda" came out on January 24 on all streaming platforms, with the second and third following in subsequent months before the full album was issued in April 2020.

Discography

*''Blues e Derivados'' (1989) *''Long Distance Blues'' (1992) *''Texas Bound'' (1996) (feat. Double Trouble former SRV Rhythm Section Chris Layton Drums – Tommy Shannon / Bass – Lou Ann Barton / Backing Vocals) *''Nuno Mindelis & the Cream Crackers'' (1998) (a reissue of ''Long Distance Blues'' with a different title without the knowledge / approval of the author) *''Blues on the Outside'' (1999) (feat. Double Trouble former SRV Rhythm Section) *''Twelve Hours'' (2003) *''Outros Nunos'' (2005) *''Free Blues'' (2010) *''Angels & Clowns (Feat. The Duke Robillard Band)'' (2013) *''Live At The Suwalki Festival / Poland'' (2018) *"Cabinda" (single) (2020) *''Angola Blues'' (2020)

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mindelis, Nuno 1957 births Living people Blues guitarists Brazilian singer-songwriters Brazilian guitarists Brazilian male guitarists