Andy Summers & Victor Biglione

Biography

Andy Summers & Victor Biglione is a guitar duo collaboration between English rock guitarist Andy Summers, best known as a member of the 1980s supergroup the Police, and Brazilian acoustic guitarist Victor Biglione, a Latin/Brazilian jazz virtuoso. The partnership began in 1997 when Summers, seeking to explore unplugged acoustic music, invited Biglione to record a duet album. Biglione, born in Argentina but raised in Brazil from a young age, brought decades of international jazz experience to the collaboration, having performed at prestigious venues including the Blue Note Jazz Club in New York and the Montreux Jazz Festival. Their musical chemistry produced two exceptional recordings: "Strings of Desire" (1998) and "Splendid Brazil" (2005), which showcased their ability to blend Summers' rock sensibility with Biglione's sophisticated Brazilian jazz influences.

The duo's sound represents a unique fusion of classical guitar technique, Brazilian rhythmic sophistication, and jazz improvisation. Summers' background in progressive rock and experimental music combined with Biglione's deep understanding of Latin jazz, bossa nova, and Brazilian grooves created a distinctive acoustic guitar dialogue. Their performances spanned multiple continents, including tours throughout Latin America, Brazil, and the United States, with notable appearances at venues such as the Hard Rock Café in Argentina and the Acarajazz Festival in Brazil. The collaboration demonstrated that despite their different musical origins—Summers from the British rock tradition and Biglione from the Brazilian jazz tradition—they shared a common language of musical sophistication and improvisational excellence.

Fun Facts

• Andy Summers invited Victor Biglione to record a duo album in 1997 after becoming interested in exploring unplugged acoustic guitar music, leading to their first collaboration 'Strings of Desire' released in 1998.
• The duo's first meeting occurred on a winter night in January 2003 in a Manhattan hotel bedroom, where Summers, Biglione, and classical guitarist Ben Verdery worked through songs over Dom Perignon champagne before performing at Joe's Pub the next night.
• Victor Biglione has won multiple prestigious awards including a Grammy Award for the album 'Brazil' (recorded with John Patitucci, Steve Hackett of Genesis, Lee Konitz, and Manhattan Transfer) and a Latin Grammy Award for 'Crooner' with Milton Nascimento.
• Andy Summers was the first guitarist encountered by Jimi Hendrix after Hendrix landed in the UK in September 1966, establishing Summers as a pioneering figure in British rock guitar history.

Musical Connections

Mentors/Influences

• Robert Fripp - Summers recorded duet albums with the King Crimson guitarist, establishing his approach to acoustic guitar collaborations (I Advance Masked (1982), Bewitched (1984)) [1982-1984]

Key Collaborators

• Victor Biglione - Primary musical partner in the duo; Brazilian guitarist and composer specializing in Latin/Brazilian jazz (Strings of Desire (1998), Splendid Brazil (2005)) [1997-2005]
• John Etheridge - Summers recorded duet albums with this guitarist (Duet album collaboration) [Post-1984]
• Benjamin Verdery - Classical guitarist who performed with Summers and Biglione; collaborated on musical projects (Live performances and recordings)
• Marcos Valle - Biglione recorded with this respected Brazilian composer known for 'Summer Samba' (Live in Montreal (2001))
• Wagner Tiso - Pianist and arranger who partnered with Biglione on an album (Album collaboration)

External Links

• Spotify
• Wikipedia