Latin Grammy winner YAMANDU COSTA is widely considered one of the great guitarists in the world today. Known for the deep bass and richness of his custom 7 string guitar and the passion of his playing, Yamandu is credited with reviving Brazilian guitar music.
He has created his very particular style of compositions, a blend of the typical music from the south of Brazil, Choro and Samba, with acrobatic fingering and high tempos, and very delicate and melodious songs. For the audience his music is somewhere between breath-taking and holding their breath, with Yamandu’s special way of melding with his instrument and his listeners.
Yamandu Costa was born January 24, 1980, in Passo Fundo, Brazil. He began to study guitar at age seven with his father, Algacir Costa, leader of the group O Fronteiriços (The Frontiersmen), and mastered the instrument under the guidance osf Lucio Yanel, an Argentinian virtuoso who lived in Brazil.
At age fifteen, Yamandu began to study southern Brazilian folk music, as well as
the music of Argentina and Uruguay. Influenced by the music of Radames
Gnattali, he began to study the music of other Brazilians, such as Baden Powell de
Aquino, Tom Jobim and Raphael Rabello.
Costa's diverse styles now include chorinho , bossa nova, milonga, tango, samba
and chamamé. His album Vento Sul was considered one of the 25 best Brazilian
albums of the second half of 2019 by the São Paulo Association of Art Critics.
In 2021, Yamandu’s album Toquinho e Yamandu Costa - Bachianinha (Live at Rio
Montreux Jazz Festival) won the Latin Grammy Award for Best Instrumental
Album.
2024 - Prenda Minha (with António Zambujo)
2024 - Helping Hands (with Elodie Bouny)
2023 - Encontro das Águas (with Armadinho Macedo)
2023 - YouTube Sessions
2023 - De Vida y Vuelta (with Domingo el Colorao)
2022 - Jazz Cigano Quinteto e Yamandu Costa
2022 - Simpatia (with Bebê Kramer)
2021 - Caballeros (with Guto Wirtti)
2021 - Encontro de Gerações na Música Instrumental Brasileira (live)
2021 - Caminantes (with Martin Sued and Luis Guerreiro)
2021 - Bachianinha - Live at Rio Montreux Jazz Festival (with Toquinho )
2020 - Festejo (with Marcelo Jiran)
2020 – Nashville 1996
2019 - Vento Sul
2018 – Yamandu Costa e Ricardo Herz
2017 – Borghetti Yamandu
2017 – Recanto
2017 – Quebranto (with Alessandro Penezzi)
2015 – Lado B (with Dominguinhos)
2015 – Tocata à Amizade
2015 – Concerto de Fronteira (with Orquestra do Estado de Mato Grosso)
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Yamandu Costa will make his first cross-country U.S. tour in October 2025.
Yamandu Costa, Brazil's most famous acoustic guitarist, now lives in Lisbon, Portugal. His first U.S. Solo tour will be in October 2025.
