Antonio José Correa Porto was born in 1965 in Campo Grande, Brazil. After completing his musical education in Sao Paulo, he now lives in Rio de Janeiro. His main musical talents lie in bass, guitar and percussion. Toni joined Hubert von Goisern's live band in May 2001, replacing Arnulf Lindner on the bass. He had previously worked with Hubert on the Inexil (bass, guitar) and Gombe (guitar, vocals, percussion, bass) albums. Toni came to know Hubert through Wolfgang Spannberger, Hubert's long-time friend and sound technician. Wolfgang was the sound technician for Roots Godwanna and when Hubert was looking for a bass and guitar player who had experience in world music, Wolfgang simply recommended Toni.

Antonio Porto's debut album Nômade was released in Brazil in 2005. It is a musical travel diary that leads from Brazil via Austria to Africa and Israel. It reflects his experience as bass player of the Austrian world musician Hubert von Goisern with whom he went on tour to Egypt, Senegal and Burkina Faso as well as with the Israeli-Austrian singer Timna Brauer and their tour to Israel.

Atlas Music Pro will release Nômade in Europe in April 2006.
There are sound samples at www.atlasmusicpro.com - where the album can also be ordered online.

Overmundo 20th April 2006

[...] Is the fact that you have worked with Hubert going to give your work leverage in Europe?

AP: I believe so, yes. Hubert is a well-known face there. He has already been in the media. He was at the top. Suddenly he began to do less commercial work, coming back to world music. More experimental and conceptual lyrics. He touches a lot on social political subjects and is also prominent in the media because of his irreverence. He once won the [Amadeus] award, the big award in Austria, promoted by Austrian TV. Then, he stayed 20 minutes criticising the television company that had given him the award. For example: "You don't play my songs and now you want to award me". He is this way. He has people who hate and who fear him, but he is someone who has enormous power in the alternative scene. He gives me an added impulse for my record.

Rodrigo Teixeira

Bad Ischler Rundschau 24th July 2002

Hubert von Goisern bass player Antonio Porto & Co. at Siriuskogl

Yesterday evening at Siriuskogl, the "half" HvG band made possible something like a foretaste of the final of the Hubert von Goisern Grenzenlos tour on 28th July in the Lehár Filmtheater Bad Ischl: the Brazilian Antonio Porto and his band Ethno Tribo, consisting of Austrian musicians, inspired the listeners - and were themselves inspired by the unique ambience of the open air stage high above the roofs of Bad Ischl.

Josef H. Handlechner

Information: Ethno Tribo is a band project which Toni usually leads back home in Brazil with local musicians. In Bad Ischl, Toni put together an Austrian version of the band, with himself, Burkhard Frauenlob, Gerhard Überbacher, Bernhard Wimmer and a saxophone player called Robert Friedl. The band performed songs by Toni, Gerhard and Burkhard and were all really pleased with the outcome.

1998

Antonio Porto is the featured attraction of the Oficina Vilarejo Bar in Penápolis today and tomorrow at 10pm. This eclectic musician from southern Mato Grosso, who has already accompanied Renato Teixeira and appeared at the Montreaux Festival in Switzerland, is giving a guitar, bass and singing concert featuring compositions of his own, covers of MPB (especially of southern Mato Grosso music) and instrumental arrangements of songs such as Villa-Lobos, O Trenzinho do Caipira, and Lennon and McCartney's Blackbird. The cover charge is R$ 5.00.

Porto began his career in 1981 as a member of the group Benvira, which consisted of musicians from southern Mato Grosso such as Paule Ge, Gilson Espíndola, Pedro Ortale and Marcos Mendes. After working with pianist and composer Lenilde Ramos and recording the album titled Ultima Ediçao (Late Edition) as Celito Espíndola's guitarist, in 1986 Porto joined Renato Teixeira's band, with whom he performed both in Brazil and abroad.

In 1988, when he recorded the album Pantanal Alerta Brasil live at MIS in São Paulo together with such artists as Paulo Simões, Almir Sater and Alzira Espíndola, Porto became a member of the Banda Perigo na Area, featuring musicians from Paraîba and some members of Novos Baianos such as percussionist Bola Moraes.

In early 1989 he went to Europe, and lived in Vienna, Austria, for almost nine years. There he recorded an album with keyboard player Alfredo Moura, who now accompanies Carlinhos Brown. The album, called Pindorama and recorded at the Austrian/German company Bellaphon, stayed in the Austrian hit-parade for three months.

While in Europe, he first worked as a session/studio musician, and recorded with some of the greatest figures of Central European music such as Hubert von Goisern, pianist Otto Lechner and hit-producer David Bronner.

He performed with singer Timna Brauer in concert for a year, and also with Israeli pianist Eli Meiri (formerly of Dizzy Gillespie's band), who is considered one of the greatest jazz pianists of today; he also toured almost all of Europe and several countries in Asia, Africa and North America.

In addition to Montreaux, he participated in the Hildeshime festival in Germany. While being an accompanying musician to so many performers, he also appeared in the famous music venues Hot-Brass of Paris and Joseph Club of Berlin.

When he returned to Brazil in the latter part of last year, Porto started to work with the ensemble formed by Pena Branca and Xavantinho. He played electric bass with them and recorded the song Morro Velho, featuring Milton Nascimento.

At present he is finishing his first CD begun in Austria in 1996, featuring European musicians as well as some from southern Mato Grosso. The album is to be released next year.

In spite of his rich background, it was just by chance that Maria Inés Peters Borges, one of the owners of Vilarejo, got to know him. "In July he got a ride here with some musicians that were going to play at the bar. We were impressed by him so we decided to schedule a solo appearance for him," she said.

For over two years now the bar has been presenting musicians from that region, as well as singers who don't belong to the commercial circuits. Among others, Rodrigo Sater (Almir Sater's brother), Osvaldinho Vianna and Jean Garfunkel (former accompanying musician to Elis Regina) have already performed there.

Eder Parladore
Translated from Portuguese by Juan Carlos Laye