Letieres Leite

Origin

Salvador, BA

Years active

1977–2021

Genres

jazz, instrumental music, afro-jazz, mpb

Instruments

flute, tenor saxophone, soprano saxophone

Biography

Letieres dos Santos Leite was born in Salvador on December 8, 1959. Before dedicating himself fully to music, he began his artistic journey in the visual arts and even studied the subject at the Federal University of Bahia. In music, he developed as a self-taught wind instrument player on the flute, tenor saxophone, and soprano saxophone, becoming a central figure in the Brazilian instrumental scene as an arranger, composer, and educator.

Throughout his career, he lived in the South of Brazil and spent years in Austria, where he refined his musical studies at the Franz Schubert Conservatory in Vienna. Upon returning to Brazil, he founded the Bahia Academy of Music and solidified partnerships with major names in our music, such as Gilberto Gil, Hermeto Pascoal, Ivete Sangalo, Elba Ramalho, and Naná Vasconcelos. His work is marked by a deep dialogue between the language of jazz and Afro-Brazilian rhythmic roots, especially the Bahian percussive universe and candomblé drumming.

In 2006, he founded the acclaimed Orkestra Rumpilezz, a project that revolutionized Brazilian instrumental music by uniting a powerful brass and woodwind section with a traditional percussion section featuring atabaques. As a conductor and musical director, he collected nationally relevant awards and left an invaluable legacy for the country's culture. Letieres Leite passed away in Salvador on October 27, 2021, a victim of respiratory failure resulting from COVID-19.