SALOMÃO SOARES — FULL BIO

Salomão Soares is a Brazilian pianist and composer, born in Cruz do Espírito Santo, in the countryside of Paraíba. He started out playing at local dances, in a household where Sivuca, Dominguinhos and Luiz Gonzaga were a constant presence — his first schooling, long before any formal piano lessons. At home, his father played percussion; it was there, by ear, that the rhythmic instinct that defines his piano today took shape.

At 15, he began studying with Helinho Medeiros in João Pessoa. Between 2008 and 2011, he worked as a pianist on cruise ships around South America. He moved to São Paulo in 2011, studied at the Tatuí Conservatory, and took lessons with André Marques, Hermeto Pascoal's pianist — a decisive period for his development and for his deepening interest in composition.

Throughout his career, he has shared the stage with names such as Toninho Horta, João Bosco and Leny Andrade, as well as Hermeto Pascoal, his greatest reference. He won the MIMO Instrumental Award and was a finalist at the Montreux Jazz Piano Competition, in Switzerland, both in 2017. He is a member of the Hamilton de Holanda Trio, with whom he won the 2025 Latin Grammy for Best Latin Jazz Album, for the album recorded live at Jazz at Lincoln Center, in New York, featuring saxophonist Chris Potter — at the same venue, he also performed as a guest of the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, and made a special guest appearance with Snarky Puppy in Alberobello, Italy.

His discography brings together original and collaborative work such as Alegria de Matuto, Colorido Urbano, Baião de Dois (with Guegué Medeiros), Interior — a solo album toured across Europe — and Espirais, alongside projects with singer Vanessa Moreno such as Chão de Flutuar, Yatra-Tá and Outros Ventos. His tours have already spanned five continents — from Japan to South Africa, from Europe to the United States and South America.

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