Renato Borghetti

by Alvaro Neder
Renato Borghetti is a unique case of an instrumentalist from a region almost disregarded by the mainstream musical industry in Brazil. Nevertheless, he gained national and international recognition from his peers and popular success at the same time, performing instrumental music strongly connected to his roots and spiced with jazz and classical music elements. He has played twice in the Free Jazz Festival (S?o Paulo) and has also been performing as a soloist ahead of several symphonic and chamber orchestras like the Orquestra Sinf?nica de Porto Alegre. He has also performed internationally, in Germany, the U.S., Uruguay, and Argentina. His father, involved with the CTG (Gaúcho Tradition Center) of Porto Alegre, introduced him very early to music. At ten, Borghetti was given his first eight-button accordion, which continues to be his specialty. His professional debut was at 15 in a huge regional festival in Rio Grande do Sul in the '80s. His first LP, Renato Borghetti Gaita-Ponto (independent, 1984), won a gold record (the first ever for a Brazilian instrumental LP) for its more than 100,000 copies sold. Its CD reissue sold almost 250,000 copies and reached platinum status. After this start, he kept within the strict boundaries of traditional gaúcho music; in his subsequent releases (12, recorded until 1999), he expanded the horizons of the regional rhythms, adding jazz and classical music elements to the vigorous local genres of milonga, chamamé, vaner?o, tango, and also to bai?o and samba.
In 1987, he performed in Germany, and the next year in the Free Jazz Festival (S?o Paulo) and Projeto Pixinguinha (Rio de Janeiro). In 1991, Borghetti was awarded by the APCA (Association of Art Critics of S?o Paulo).
Borghetti has not only received popular acclaim, but also that of established instrumentalists whom he has been playing with, such as Luís Gonzaga, Hermeto Pascoal, Sivuca, Dominguinhos, Stephane Grapelli, and Ron Carter.