Anibal Augusto Sardinha, or Garoto as he is now known, was born on June 29 1915 , in S. Paulo.

Both his parents were Portuguese, and his father and brothers were all able players of the Portuguese guitar; Anibal soon showed the fabulous natural talent of a child prodigy.

At the age of 11, when performing at the Teatro Santa Helena, the programme announcer soon tired of having each time to say the long name of this young boy, and called him "Garoto do Banjo", which in Portuguese means simply "The Kid With the Banjo".

The instrument with which he began his career was the banjo, but by the age of 16 he played with equal facility the mandolin, the tenor guitar, the cavaquinho (a kind of mandolin), the Hawaiian guitar and, of course, the guitar.

Garoto was forced to take several jobs; not infrequently playing in cabarets until the early morning; then going to another job after only two or three hours' sleep.

Everyone tried to get a job at a radio station which, because of its popularity, could provide the much-needed publicity to its instrumentalists.

They could then perform in shows, night clubs and recording sessions for much better pay than the miserable salaries offered by the radio stations.

A solo career was impossible; the guitar was not a "respectable" instrument; Garoto worked almost continuously for several different radio stations; it was there that Garoto met the composer Radames Gnattali.

While still in S. Paulo Garoto had worked in duo: first with Canhoto (a very important left-handed guitarist), then with Aimore (with whom he performed for the first time in Brazil , the four-handed duet on one guitar so popular now); and finally - a particularly close association - with Laurindo Almeida, playing in several ensembles in their duo "Garoto and Laurindo".

Laurindo was to be the first to record Garoto's own music outside Brazil , and was given three Choros which the author considered his best, for publication.

The difference in his association with Gnattali was that here he was in front of a concert pianist of immense musical knowledge; yet who was also totally open to Garoto's ambititions and specific talents which, ultimately, lay in his improvisational ability and in the Choro.

So many of Garoto's compositions are truly improvisations: "Improviso", "Prelude", "Um Rosto de Mulher", "Nosso Choro", etc.

Many of Gnattali's compositions like the "Toccata em Ritmo de Samba" (Concert Study no.2) and his "Guitar Concerto no.2" where composed at Garoto's wish: the Concerto for a performance at the Teatro Municipal - the most prestigious Concert Hall in Brazil - conducted by the eminent Eleazar de Carvalho.