I am always pleased to read Nuno Galopim's postings in Sound + Vision, because I'll always pick up a valuable musical tidbit there. And one of his valuable tips for me, was António Pinho Vargas, the contemporary classicist and jazz musician.

I was scared off at first, because a comment on a music blog described him as "neither quite Elton John nor Richard Clayderman." Actually, this description is wide of the mark.

There is a whole period for António Pinho Vargas which, it's true, I haven't concentrated on: his contemporary jazz period. There are some great YouTube clips here which showcase Vargas with a jazz group backing, performing works like "Tom Waits" and "Dança dos pássaros". But it's not really the jazz period which attracted me: it is his interpretation of those works on his current CD Solo which I think showcase the beauty of these compositions.

In fact, António Pinho Vargas has much more in common with Stars Of The Lid on his Solo CD, than Richard Clayderman. In the Solo work, tracks like "General Complex" or "Funerais" show his compositional prowess to the full.

Have a look at this YouTube video (probably a fan video) for his composition "Dinky Toys":



There is an English biography located here in his official website.