at age of 17, he went to the u.s. to study harmony and orchestration at the university of california. back in brazil he went to study at clam, with famous brazilian bassists luis chaves and amilton godoy. later, in 1976, he again left brazil and headed to new york city, willing to study and perform with his instrument at a deeper level. there, he played with several important musicians of the jazz scene, including wayne shorter, pat metheny, sadao watanabe, larry coryell, fred hersh, larry willis, joe diorio, john hicks, steve slagle, victor lewis, don salvador and charlie rouse.