Nonato Luiz began playing music at the age of four. At 15 he was second violin of the Fortaleza Symphony Orchestra. During that time, juggling popular and classical music, he opted for the guitar as his primary instrument. In 1975, already a composer, he won first prize in a guitar contest at TV Tupi in São Paulo.
His first album, Terra, included guest appearances by Fagner and João Donato. He also recorded an album with the flamenco guitarist Pedro Soler. The same year, he recorded a tribute to Pablo Picasso with Mercedes Sosa, Paco de Lucia, and Rafael Alberti. In 1984, Nonato Luiz recorded in Johannesburg, South Africa, for the SABC label. The following year, he performed in Italy, France, Austria and at the fabled Mozarteum in Salzburg. During this period he recorded in Paris the album Guitarra Brasileira, consisting of his own compositions. Upon his return to Brazil, he participated in discs and shows with Chico Buarque, Fagner, Nara Leão and Luiz Gonzaga.
Today, with numerous recordings and performances worldwide, Nonato Luiz is one of the most respected Brazilian instrumentalists in the world. His compositions have been recorded by guitarists in Brazil, Czech Republic, United States, England, China, Argentina, Germany, Austria and France. A score book of his compositions, titled Suíte Sexta em Ré Para Guitarrra, was published by Henry Lemoine in Paris. Nonato Luiz is an alchemist of sound, mixing and distilling disparate popular and classical elements - from forró to jazz, from bossa nova to blues, from baião to Baroque - while remaining true to his northeastern Brazilian roots. In 2006, Nonato Luiz was the recipient of the Abolition Medal by the then governor of the State of Ceará, Lúcio Alcântara.