Almir Chediak Biography

Though little known outside his native land, Almir Chediak was one of the pivotal figures in contemporary Brazilian popular music, both as a teacher of many internationally famed musicians and as a tireless champion for the cause of preserving and documenting songs and lyrics. Born to Lebanese parents in Rio de Janeiro on June 21, 1950, Chediak began studying guitar at age seven, and a decade later was teaching the instrument as well as harmony and musical theory to others. His students included the likes of Gal Costa, Nara Leão, Cazuza, Tim Maia, Carlos Lyra and Elba Ramalho, among numerous others; he also scored countless films, and regularly wrote string and horn arrangements for other recording sessions. By the mid-1980s, Chediak counted among his students the children of Brazilian greats Caetano Veloso and Gilberto Gil; during a lesson at the home of the former, he was shocked to realize that the senior Veloso often did not recall the exact lyrics or chords of his own songs, and soon set about establishing a written library to guarantee Brazilian music would survive for future generations to study and enjoy. Starting in 1984 with The Dictionary of Notated Chords and resuming his work three years later with Methods of Harmony and Improvisation, in 1988 Chediak and his publishing house Lumiar published a two-volume Veloso songbook that included some 135 compositions; he would later notate and publish 18 songbooks in all, spotlighting composers including Gil, Rita Lee, Edu Lobo, Vinicius de Morales, Noel Rosa and Ary Barroso. Antonio Carlos Jobim, the subject of a 1991 three-volume set, called Chediak’s efforts “an act of patriotism…we can now sing and play the songs, with their proper harmonies whenever we want, and that is wonderful.” Also in 1991, Chediak began arranging and producing CDs to accompany the books; his Lumiar imprint also signed artists including João Donato, Rosa Passos, Cristovão Bastos and Carol Saboya. While nearing completion on a songbook retrospective of João Bosco, on May 25, 2003 Chediak was attacked by robbers in his country home outside of Rio and shot to death; he was 52 years old.