VINICIUS DE MORAES

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Vinicius de Moraes was a seminal figure in contemporary Brazilian music. As a poet, he wrote lyrics for a great number of songs that became all-time classics. He was also a composer of some of the most memorable bossa nova songs. Born in Rio de Janeiro, was a poet and musician, movie critic and playwright, law student then journalist, an international diplomat and a bon vivant who conducted meetings and worked from his legendary bathtub.

Vinicius de moraes at film Black Orpheus opening ceremony.

Vinicius arm wrestling with The girl from Ipanema creator, Tom Jobim. The two began collaborating in 1956, when de Moraes was looking for someone to put music to his play Orfeu da Conceição (Orpheus of the Conception).

Baden Powell met Vinicius de Moraes in 1962 and began a collaboration that yielded some true classics of 1960s Brazilian music. Although bossa nova was the prevailing sound of the times, the partnership Baden-Vinicius wanted to transcend the then-fashionable sound by syncretizing Afro-Brazilian forms such as Candomblé, Umbanda and Capoeira with Rio de Janeiro’s Samba forms. The most enduring result is a series released as an LP in 1966 under the name “Os Afro-Sambas de Baden e Vinicius”. During those years released his 1966 Tristeza on Guitar, considered by many to be a high point in his career.

Chico Buarque, Tom Jobim, Vinicius de Moraes in Rio de Janeiro, 1979. By Evandro Teixeira.

Toquinho first big hit was composed in 1970 with Jorge Benjor, “Que Maravilha” (What a Wonder). That same year he was invited by Vinicius de Moraes, co-writer of the worldwide hit song “Garota de Ipanema” (The Girl from Ipanema), to participate in a series of shows in Buenos Aires, forming a solid partnership that would continue for 11 years and produce 120 songs, 25 records and over a thousand shows.