Amancio D'Silva (19 March 1936 – 17 July 1996) was an Indian jazzguitarist and composer, known for his own recordings and his collaborations with other musicians in Britain, notably Joe Harriott and Stan Tracey.
He was born in Bombay (now Mumbai), India, to Goan parents. He took up guitar in his teens, influenced by American jazz guitarists such as Charlie Christian and Wes Montgomery whom he heard on the radio, and soon began performing with local jazz groups. By his early 20s he had formed his own group, including saxophonist Braz Gonzalvez and pianist Anacleto Naronha, and toured around India. He met his future wife Joyce, an Irish-born teacher, in Simla. He gained such a reputation as a musician that Gayatri Devi, the Maharani of Jaipur at the time and an ardent jazz lover, became his benefactor and bought him his first quality guitar, a Gibson.[1]
In 1967, he travelled to London with his family, primarily to seek medical treatment for his son Stephano. He and Joyce had two other children, Maria and Francesca. He worked as a cleaner, and also as a musician at the "Prospect of Whitby" pub and at the Spanish Garden Club in the West End, and began living in Ealing. Jonathan Miller introduced him to record producer Dennis Preston, who set up a collaboration between D'Silva and leading British musicians Don Rendell and Ian Carr. This resulted in the EMI album Integration...introducing Amancio D’Silva, which received critical acclaim as a unique fusion of jazz and Indian music styles.[2]
The next collaboration, in 1969, was the album Hum Dono with Jamaican-born saxophonist Joe Harriott, for which Amancio wrote the majority of the compositions, and which again met with critical support.[3] This was followed by Reflections...the romantic guitar of Amancio D’Silva (1971), featuring orchestral arrangements by Stan Tracey of classic songs by Gershwin, Ellington and others. In 1972 he led an outfit on the album Dream Sequence, by Cosmic Eye, an avant garde group including Alan Branscombe, Kashev Sathe, and John Mayer. Other collaborations around the same time included two albums with percussionist Guy Warren, all listed below.
Amancio continued to perform, and record independently, new music with collaborators from the EMI albums and others. These included projects with Clem Alford, but also with the flautist/saxophonist Lynn Dobson amongst others. Living in Essex in the 1980s, he would play regularly at jazz clubs in Ipswich, as well as a series of concerts at St. Mary's Arts Centre in Colchester around 1985, which featured amongst others Marcio Mattos on double bass, and also concerts at Norwich Arts Centre.
As well as performing and recording extensively, Amancio also customised guitar pick-ups for well known rock musicians. He continued to perform until his health made it impossible in the mid-1990s, and also taught extensively, first at Jenako Art in London's East End from the mid-1980s to early 1990s and later at the Krishnamurti International School in Hampshire. In 1992 he was partially paralysed by a stroke. He and Joyce D'Silva remained married throughout his life. He died in 1996 following further strokes, and was buried according to his wishes at a woodland cemetery near Brighton.
amancio, silva, march, 1936, july, 1996, indian, jazz, guitarist, composer, known, recordings, collaborations, with, other, musicians, britain, notably, harriott, stan, tracey, contents, life, discography, leader, leader, guest, compilations, references, exter. Amancio D Silva 19 March 1936 17 July 1996 was an Indian jazz guitarist and composer known for his own recordings and his collaborations with other musicians in Britain notably Joe Harriott and Stan Tracey Contents 1 Life 2 Discography 2 1 As leader co leader 2 2 As guest 2 3 On compilations 3 References 4 External linksLife editHe was born in Bombay now Mumbai India to Goan parents He took up guitar in his teens influenced by American jazz guitarists such as Charlie Christian and Wes Montgomery whom he heard on the radio and soon began performing with local jazz groups By his early 20s he had formed his own group including saxophonist Braz Gonzalvez and pianist Anacleto Naronha and toured around India He met his future wife Joyce an Irish born teacher in Simla He gained such a reputation as a musician that Gayatri Devi the Maharani of Jaipur at the time and an ardent jazz lover became his benefactor and bought him his first quality guitar a Gibson 1 In 1967 he travelled to London with his family primarily to seek medical treatment for his son Stephano He and Joyce had two other children Maria and Francesca He worked as a cleaner and also as a musician at the Prospect of Whitby pub and at the Spanish Garden Club in the West End and began living in Ealing Jonathan Miller introduced him to record producer Dennis Preston who set up a collaboration between D Silva and leading British musicians Don Rendell and Ian Carr This resulted in the EMI album Integration introducing Amancio D Silva which received critical acclaim as a unique fusion of jazz and Indian music styles 2 The next collaboration in 1969 was the album Hum Dono with Jamaican born saxophonist Joe Harriott for which Amancio wrote the majority of the compositions and which again met with critical support 3 This was followed by Reflections the romantic guitar of Amancio D Silva 1971 featuring orchestral arrangements by Stan Tracey of classic songs by Gershwin Ellington and others In 1972 he led an outfit on the album Dream Sequence by Cosmic Eye an avant garde group including Alan Branscombe Kashev Sathe and John Mayer Other collaborations around the same time included two albums with percussionist Guy Warren all listed below Amancio continued to perform and record independently new music with collaborators from the EMI albums and others These included projects with Clem Alford but also with the flautist saxophonist Lynn Dobson amongst others Living in Essex in the 1980s he would play regularly at jazz clubs in Ipswich as well as a series of concerts at St Mary s Arts Centre in Colchester around 1985 which featured amongst others Marcio Mattos on double bass and also concerts at Norwich Arts Centre As well as performing and recording extensively Amancio also customised guitar pick ups for well known rock musicians He continued to perform until his health made it impossible in the mid 1990s and also taught extensively first at Jenako Art in London s East End from the mid 1980s to early 1990s and later at the Krishnamurti International School in Hampshire In 1992 he was partially paralysed by a stroke He and Joyce D Silva remained married throughout his life He died in 1996 following further strokes and was buried according to his wishes at a woodland cemetery near Brighton Discography editAs leader co leader edit Integration introducing Amancio D Silva Columbia 1969 Hum Dono with Joe Harriott Columbia 1969 Reflections the romantic guitar of Amancio D Silva Columbia 1971 Cosmic Eye Dream Sequence Regal Zonophone 1972 Konkan Dance Vocalion 2006 rec 1972 1974 Sapana The Roundtable 2022 rec 1983 As guest edit With Guy Warren Afro Jazz Columbia 1968 The African sounds of Guy Warren of Ghana Regal Zonophone 1972 With Clem Alford Mirror Image Columbia 1974 On compilations edit Jazz Explosion A Panorama of Contemporary British Jazz Columbia 1969 Joe Harriott Memorial 1973 One Up 1973 Impressed with Gilles Peterson 2002 Impressed 2 With Gilles Peterson 2004 Jazz for Meditation 2007 References edit Goan Voice UK supplement on AMANCIO D SILVA Home Jazz All About Amancio D Silva Konkan Dance album review All About Jazz All About Jazz Retrieved 31 July 2020 External links editAmancio D Silva official site Amancio D Silva discography at Discogs Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Amancio D 27Silva amp oldid 1184187541, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
