Neto and Kuuskmann piano-bassoon duo on KUVO’s YouTube, Twitch | 4.10.25 at 11 a.m.

Brazilian pianist Jovino Santos Neto and Estonian bassoonist Martin Kuuskmann recently performed in Denver. Their intimate duo presentation was also captured at KUVO’s Bonfils-Stanton Performance Studio. The set will be posted on KUVO’s YouTube and Twitch channels this Thursday, April 10, at 11 a.m.

Three-time Latin Grammy nominee Jovino Santos Neto is a master pianist, flutist, composer, arranger, conductor, and educator from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. After 15 years as a full-time member of the legendary Hermeto Pascoal Group, he settled in Seattle in 1993 and established himself as a charismatic performer, whether playing solo piano, leading his Trio, his award-winning Quinteto, or in guest appearances with big bands, chamber ensembles, and orchestras worldwide. He has shared the stage and the studio with some of the most creative musicians of our times, such as Bill Frisell, Paquito d’Rivera, Flora Purim and Airto. Jovino’s passion is to deepen the connections between Music and Nature. He taught music for 26 years at Cornish College of the Arts and now tours the world performing his music and teaching.

Martin Kuuskmann is a multiple Grammy-nominated Estonian-born bassoon virtuoso. His charismatic and commanding performances throughout the world have earned him repute as one of today’s leading solo instrumentalists. Kuuskmann has performed with many of the world’s leading orchestras including MDR Leipzig Radio Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Estonian National Symphony Orchestra and many others in worldwide concert halls including Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Kennedy Center and Sala São Paulo. Kuuskmann's exceptionally wide repertoire spans from traditional works to fifteen concerti written especially for him by some of today’s leading composers including Christopher Theofanidis, Erkki-Sven Tüür, Tõnu Kõrvits, David Chesky, Eino Tamberg, Páll Ragnar Pálsson and Miguel Kertsman. Praised for his versatility, Kuuskmann has closely collaborated with jazz luminaries John Patitucci, Joe Zawinul, Jovino Santos Neto and Kristjan Randalu. He serves as an Associate Professor of Bassoon and Chamber Music at the University of Denver Lamont School of Music.

With their new duo release “Retratos – Brazilian Portraits” (2025, The Audiophile Society), Brazilian pianist Jovino Santos Neto and Estonian bassoonist Martin Kuuskmann present a new way to integrate the emotionally and rhythmically charged music of Brazil with the delicate nuances of chamber music. They perform Jovino’s sensitive arrangements of music by Brazilian composers such as Antonio Carlos Jobim, Radamés Gnattali, Pixinguinha, Hermeto Pascoal and others in a flowing and intuitive manner. Their focus is to portray the expressive interpretation of choro, bossa nova, samba and ballads, embracing the lyrical poetry of the composers without words. This album was recorded live in concert at the prestigious Estonia Kontserdisaal in Tallinn during the duo’s successful first Estonian tour in April 2024. Now it is available in audiophile high resolution sound for the world to hear.