[2] Laurindo José de Araújo Almeida Nobrega Neto was born in the village of Prainha, Brazil near Santos in the state of São Paulo.

During his teenage years, Almeida moved to São Paulo, where he worked as a radio artist, staff arranger and nightclub performer.

In Paris, he attended a performance at the Hot Club de France by Stéphane Grappelli and famed guitarist Django Reinhardt, who became a lifelong artistic inspiration.

[2] Other observers note that the beat, harmonic stamp, and economy of expression were different from the bossa nova, giving Almeida and Shank's recording "...a different mood and sound...certainly valuable in its own right.

In this recording, Almeida arranges standard classical and folk repertoire through the prism of several Latin musical forms, including the modenha, charo, maracatu and boi bumba.

Laurindo Almeida's guitar playing captures the keen poignancy and rhythmic élan of Brazilian music with superb assurance and taste ...".

[2] In addition to his recording achievements, Almeida continued his work with the film studios throughout his career, playing guitar, lute, mandolin and other instruments for more than 800 motion picture and television soundtracks (such as The High Chaparral and "The Gift," an episode of The Twilight Zone).

Almeida made cameo appearances in the 1954 movie A Star is Born and on a 1959 episode of Peter Gunn titled "Skin Deep".

[13] In 1980, Almeida joined forces with Charlie Byrd on a series of highly regarded recordings, including Latin Odyssey, Brazilian Soul and Tango.

[14] In discussing Outra Vez, John Storm Roberts noted "...there was nothing retro about its tour de force, a phenomenal duet of Almeida performing Beethoven's 'Moonlight Sonata' while bassist Bob Magnusson played Thelonious Monk's 'Round Midnight.

As described by authors Chris McGowan and Ricardo Pessanha, Laurindo Almeida was "...an artist known for his harmonic mastery, subtle dynamics, rich embellishments and adept improvisatory skills in a variety of idioms".

[8] In 2004 Almeida's guitar work from his version of The Lamp Is Low was sampled by the Japanese DJ and producer Nujabes for the song "Aruarian Dance" which features on the soundtrack to the anime series Samurai Champloo.