The honey-toned chanteuse on the surprise Brazilian crossover hit "The Girl From Ipanema," Astrud Gilberto parlayed her previously unscheduled appearance (and professional singing debut) on the song into a lengthy career that resulted in nearly a dozen albums for Verve and a successful performing career that lasted into the '90s. Though her... [+] Read More

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Beth Carvalho was born in the working class suburb of Gamboa but was raised in the middle class South Side. At the age of seven, she was performing in novice shows in several Carioca radios, like the Nacional. At the same time, she studied musical theory at the Escola Nacional de Música. With the bossa nova movement gaining informal venues like... [+] Read More

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Of the early stars of MPB (musica popular brasileira), Chico Buarque was one of the first to become a certifiable pop star. With his warm, nasally croon, elegant phrasing, and considerable skill at lyric writing, Buarque (who is handsome to boot) became extremely popular with women, who loved his understated sensuality. However, Buarque was... [+] Read More

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Together with Beth Carvalho and Alcione, Clara Nunes, in life, was regarded as one of the three Queens of Samba. She had (and still has) enormous success with sambas by composers of the hills like "Juízo Final" (Nelson Cavaquinho/Élcio Soares) and "Coração Leviano" (Paulinho da Viola) and songs devoted to her religion, the Candomblé. Among her... [+] Read More

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Temperamental and moody, capable of fits of extreme generosity that could quickly turn into moments of rage-filled paranoia, Elis Regina was one of the most ferociously talented singers to emerge from Brazil. A perfectionist who was frequently dissatisfied, Regina drove herself and members of her band relentlessly, leading to her being dubbed... [+] Read More

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Elizete Cardoso, the singer whose album Chega de Saudade launched the bossa nova, was also the first popular singer to interpret Villa-Lobos at the Municipal Theaters of São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, and was considered by Almirante the best interpreter of Noel Rosa. Adored by Edith Piaf ("C'est merveilleuse! C'est merveilleuse!"), paid homage by... [+] Read More

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Gal Costa is an awarded singer with an extensive solo discography and international experience. A fundamental presence in the Tropicalia movement, she has been in Brazil's leading team of singers for decades. Since very young, she has been involved with music as a singer and violão player; when her mother's business broke she became a record... [+] Read More

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Brazilian jazz vocalist and pianist Tania Maria's career has spanned over three decades, starting when she was just 13 and she fronted a band of professional musicians organized by her father, who was a metal worker and gifted amateur musician. He had encouraged her to study piano so that she could accompany him on his weekend jam sessions, but... [+] Read More

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