Célio De Carvalho

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL

Célio was born in Rio de Janeiro on the February 16 - 1959 in a family of classical musicians. As he says he doesn’t remember when he started to play drums "ever, since I remember it has always being a drum around me". At the age of ten he studied clarinet in the music corps the Colegio Salesianos Santa Rosa under the direction of Mestre Afonso dos Reis. Playing Capoeira and Samba on the streets he got the contact with some of the Brazilians rhythms. At the age of 16 he started to join local groups at the trap drums. He played with numerous local groups in an intense activity carrying his drums in the busses around Rio going from rehearsal to rehearsal, from gig to gig in an exhausting marathon. Three years later started a classical percussion studies at Instituto Villa Lobos under leading of Edgar Nunes Roca and Hugo Tagning, five years in the conservatorium ended up in a meeting with Hermeto Pascoal...he abandoned school five months before getting his diploma. ”Hermeto gave me, in a couple of months, much more then what I got in five years in the school". In 1983 he was invited to teach samba in Oslo for the Norwegian Carnival. He was planning to stay one year in Norway but he stayed since then. More than seventy records recorded in Norway, Sweden, Finland, Iceland, USA, Germany, Brazil, Denmark and Russia. Five of these records have got the Spelemans Pris, the Norwegian Grammy. Celio has performed/ recorded with numerous groups and artists, to name some: The Talisman Group, The Hammocks, Trio de Janeiro, Jørn Hoel, Jan Eggun, Øystein Sunde, Nuku, Jon Christensen’s Bestillingsverk, Tone Holbækmo and Hans Frederik Jakobsen, Kalenda Maya, Håkon Grafs Grafitti, Geir Lystrup, David Chocron, Kringkastingsorkesteret, Sissel Kyrkjebø, Oslo Gospel Choir and more, (Norway), Mezzoforte, Gaia (Iceland), Phip Hamilton, Full Circle ( USA), Artur Maia, Robertinho Silva, Ju Cassou,Carlos Negreiros, Catia de Franca, SESC ( Brazil), Bye Bye Brazil ( Netherlands) Oleg Kireyev, Arkady Kilkloper ( Russia)and many more. Celio has a duo with the most celebrated drummer of Brazil, Robertinho Silva and take part in this groups: Combonations, Zanza, Philip Hamilton’s band, A Primal Spirit, Oleg Kirevs band Claudio Dauelsberg Quartet, to name a fell. He has got a big reputation in Russia where he has performed couple of times with his own group, A Primal Spirit. Courses, clinics or workshops: Music Høyskolen - Oslo, Summer Jazz – Finland Slagverk Festival - Stockholm, Bergen Harmonien ( Philharmonic Orchestra) - Bergen, Førde internationale folk music festival, Lørenskog musikkskole, Kringkastingsorkesteret and much more. In 1996 he released his solo album Avenida Brasil sponsored by Norsk Kassett Avgifts Fond and Fond For Utøvende Kunstnere. In the latest 8 years has Célio started a cultural project involving Brasil and Norway, until now has he taking Norwegian musicians for tours in Brasil 7 times with a great success. Celio's project has touring around Brasil for an organization called SESC and is the first time in SESC's history that an artist do more than one "whole country" tour, more tours is to come. Célio has been working for the Norwegian state organization Rikskonsertene since 1986, travelling the whole country playing for children and adults. The last year Celio has worked for Brageteateret in Norway.