João Bosco - João Bosco (1973)

Since no others leap to mind, you'd have to say that João Bosco is the greatest civil engineer-turned-singer/songwriter in the history of Brazilian popular music. He graduated with his degree in 1972 but since then has been concentrating on becoming one of Brazil's most formidable songwriters. For most of his early career, he supplied Elis Regina with some of her best material; it could be said that each one made the other's career, but since her death, Bosco has stepped into the performance limelight with a great degree of authority and has been one of the more compelling figures in Brazilian music for decades.

Born in Ponte Nova in 1946, Bosco cut his musical teeth in a family in which music was as important as eating and sleeping. His mother was an accomplished violinist, his father a singer of samba, his sister a concert pianist, and his brother a composer. While attending Ouro Preto University he became steeped in American jazz (Miles Davis in particular) and the bossa nova sound of João Gilberto and Antonio Carlos Jobim, it was also at university that he met lyricist Vinicius de Moraes, who contributed his elegant, poetic lyrics to Bosco's music. It was not long after that record companies began offering Bosco and de Moraes their services. Later in the '70s, Bosco became musically involved with Aldir Blanc, a psychiatrist who'd decided to give up his practice to become a lyricist. Witty, surreal, at times pretentious, but more often than not extremely clever, Blanc became the perfect foil for Bosco and the two would work together, quite successfully, until the mid-'80s.


Tracklist:

Tristeza De Uma Embolada 3:05

Nada A Desculpar 3:07

Boi 1:30

Angra 2:58

Quilombo 3:03

Bala Com Bala 2:23

Bernardo, O Eremita 3:25

Quem Será? 2:29

Fatalidade (Balconista Teve Morte Instantânea) 3:27

Alferes 4:12

Amon Rá E O Cavalo De Tróia 2:34

João Bosco - João Bosco (1973)

(ca. 256 kbps, cover art included)