R.I.P.: Enio Santos

Enio Santos
(born June 22, 1953)
died September 3rd, 2008, Rio de Janeiro, RJ)
(from left to right: Mario Castro-Neves, Cesar Machado and Enio Santos during a recording session, produced by Arnaldo DeSouteiro, for Machado's upcoming album)

One of the kindest human beings I've ever knew, one of the most polite, humble and generous musicians I have ever met, the great Brazilian bassist Enio Santos passed away a few minutes ago in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, after a 2-year battle against a cancer. We had the opportunity to work together in not so many occasions, but each session with him was a very special one. Enio played bass on the radio-friendly track "Smoke in the City", from Marcelo Salazar's "Tropical Lounge Project" CD, released on my JSR label in 2005. That track became a radio hit all over Asia, appearing in several compilations, most notably "Audiophile Bossa Voices" and "Singapore: The Trendy Eastern".

Enio is also featured on the recently released compilation "Tempos Diferentes: O Maravilhoso Mundo Musical de Nelson Angelo", which includes some tracks from an Angelo album I produced in the late 90s. Among them, an acclaimed version of Antonio Carlos Jobim's "The Red Blouse", also selected for the "Spot São Paulo" CD (Dubas).

The last time we met in studio was during some recording sessions for a forthcoming album by drummer Cesar Machado, featuring the legendary New Jersey-based arranger Mario Castro-Neves on piano. As usual, we all felt mesmerized by Enio Santos' gorgeous sound on the acoustic bass. Rest in Peace.