For sixty years Brazilian guitarist Odair Assad has been performing concerts with his brother Sérgio, forming an exceptional guitar duo. In 1998, Odair began to record alone. It is of little surprise that his sublime playing has been acclaimed at every turn. The reviewer Colin Cooper said this about Malcolm Arnold’s short Serenade for guitar and strings recorded with Leo Brouwer conducting the Orquesta de Cordoba (GHA Records): “Odair Assad reveals himself to be a soloist of awesome talents, which is no less than observation has always suggested.” One year later the same reviewer wrote about the album Fuga y misterio: ”Odair Assad has one of the most fluent left hands in a guitarist, seemingly attached to the fingerboard, it performs its function without obvious effort and to the maximum musical effect. This CD gives him the chance to shine in solo splendour.” About the same album, the Italian review Seicorde underlines Odair’s spontaneous musical intention, his easy instrumental approach as well as his talent in playing in perfect tune with any partner, his brother Sergio, cellist Edmond Carlier or violinist Fernando Suarez Paz.

 

In 2008, Cuban composer Leo Brouwer wrote for Odair Assad the Sonata del caminante. “It’s a kind of portrait of Odair. He has a mask to protect his sensitivity, he is a very complete person; he is not only delicate, but also powerful. I have a lot of tenderness inside of it, a lot of aggressiveness, a lot of joy, everything which is peculiar to Odair’s character. This is one of the pieces which I composed with more joy and ease” says Brouwer (interview, Classical Guitar).

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Brazilian Egberto Gismonti dedicated to Odair a special version of his piece Memória e fado. Sérgio Assad then composed Seis brevidades, Kevin Callahan wrote the Red Fantasy and Roland Dyens arranged Rosa by Pixinguinha, a program of new and extraordinary repertoire had thus been created that Odair was able to premiere and record. In the spring of 2010, his first solo recording El caminante was released on the GHA label. Odair’s first North American concert tour began in February 2011 and were received ecstatically by the guitar aficionados and other audiences too. “Mr. Assad’s phrasing is highly personalized, with extreme rubato and articulation so varied as to sound almost improvised” says Allan Kozinn (The New York Times).

 

In 2015, Sérgio and Odair celebrated their 50th anniversary as a duo. Their first ever performance together was in the fall of 1965 on a Brazilian television show called Boussaude, where they played with famed chôro composer Jacob do Bandolim. In a ceremony in Oklahoma City, on June 28th, 2015, the Guitar Foundation of America honored Sérgio and Odair Assad with the Artistic Achievement Award for their monumental contributions to the development of the art and life of the classical guitar.

 

In 2025, an international tour will celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Assad Brothers’ guitar duo and the release of The Last Song, Odair’s new solo album.