Célio Barros is a member of a younger generation of Brazilian musicians who has presented enough accomplishments to justify the expectancy of a solid musical career. Very early in life, he played violão (acoustic guitar), electric guitar, and double bass. In February 1989, he began to take double bass and theory classes at the Conservatório Musical Brooklin Paulista. His first group dates from 1990, when he became a professional playing at nightclubs. Performing with an extremely varied array of musicians in several different styles, he began to forge his own voice, which is strongly bent toward free improvisation. At the same time, he started to write his own originals. In 1992, he became a professor at the CMBP. In 1994, together with the group Triozz, he executed his compositions having as special guests musicians Hector Costita, David Richards, Mané Silveira, Chiquinho de Almeida, Osmar Campos, Tomati, and Armando Tibério. With Jan Weber (electric and acoustic guitar) and Maurício Mirá (saxes, clarinet, kalimba), he formed the group Strange Meetings, a spontaneous compositional proposal which would yield a CD under the title Strange Meetings (PMC) in 1997. They performed together with a varied selection of groups, such as the Lumiá choir from the Universidade Livre de Música de São Paulo. In 1995, he performed with pianist/arranger/conductor Nelson Ayres and saxophonist Hector Costita, and with sax player Thomas Rohrer started a regular schedule of presentations. His quartet Interchanges, with Emílio Mendonça (piano and analog synthesizers), Thomas Rohrer (saxes and flute), and Rui Carvalho (drums) also recorded a CD in 1999, Interchanges (PMC). In 1995, he also formed the quartet 4 Jazz and constituted a label (Produção de Música Contemporânea PMC) and a recording studio specialized in avant-garde jazz, erudite music, and MPB. He is also his studio's producer and recording engineer. In 1997, he recorded a duets album with percussionist Renato Martins, again through PMC. His label was officially launched on September 29, 1997, during the project Instrumental SESC Paulista, with a live performance by the Interchanges group. That same year, he recorded the theme for a TV Bandeirantes show and started two other works: a duo with singer Edu Costa, always in the same vein of open compositions and free improvisation, and the free jazz trio Quae Sera Tamen, which produced a new CD. In 1998, he won the First Visa Award for Instrumental MPB, together with pianist André Mehmari, which resulted in the CD Prêmio Visa de MPB Instrumental. He also recorded a CD with percussionist Flávio Freire. Together with American guitar player, professor, writer, and Brazilian music aficionado Richard Boukas, he performed at the SESC Vila Mariana. At the SESC Ipiranga, he appeared in the show Orocongo, Rabeca e Violino during the project Encontro com a Dança e a Música Brasileiras, together with Siba, Antônio Nóbrega, Gentil do Orocongo, Mestre Luís Paixão, Thomas Rohrer, and the Italian musician Alessandra Belloni. With the group Interchanges, he recorded a CD with special guest Edward Sarath, an American trumpetist and IAJE's coordinator. ~ Alvaro Neder, Rovi