Biography
Aldir Blanc entered the world in Estácio and divided his early years between that district and Tijuca, where a striking attraction to language soon led him to compose lyrics. At seventeen he mastered the drums and assembled the Rio Bossa Trio, which regularly backed aspiring performers on a television program. While enrolled in medical school, he began performing at festivals across the university circuit, an arena that, under authoritarian rule, served as a vital outlet for cultural expression; fellow artists who gained notice through the same platform included Ivan Lins, Luiz Gonzaga Júnior, and César Costa Filho.
Late in the 1960s he formed a songwriting alliance with acoustic guitarist Sílvio da Silva Jr., and the pair placed several works favorably at festivals. In 1968 their composition “A Noite, A Maré e o Amor” earned strong notice at TV Globo’s III FIC. The following year, at the II Festival Universitário de MPB in Rio de Janeiro, three of his pieces advanced: “Nada Sei de Eterno,” written with da Silva and delivered by Taiguara; “Mirante,” created with César Costa Filho and sung by Maria Creuza; and “De Esquina em Esquina,” also with Costa Filho and interpreted by Clara Nunes. At the 1970 V FIC he placed “Diva,” again with Costa Filho, while “Amigo é Pra Essas Coisas,” another collaboration with da Silva, competed in the II Festival Universitário de MPB.
After da Silva relocated to Mexico, Blanc met João Bosco, a recent arrival from Minas Gerais who played violão and had already penned several songs. The two quickly bonded and began writing together, maintaining the partnership largely by mail until vacation periods allowed Blanc to visit Ouro Preto, where they refined pieces such as “Angra” and “Agnus Sei.” Elis Regina’s 1971 recording of “Bala Com Bala,” co-written by the duo and Costa Filho, marked a decisive milestone. In 1972 they won a contest sponsored by the satirical tabloid Pasquim, whose first-place award secured the song’s inclusion in the inaugural Disco de Bolso series. Composer Sérgio Ricardo had conceived the series to spotlight emerging MPB voices by pairing each new artist with an established figure on a single disc; Tom Jobim occupied the veteran side of the first release, while João Bosco represented the newcomer. National distribution of Bosco’s work propelled Blanc and Bosco toward wider recognition, prompting both to turn professional. Bosco settled in Rio after securing an RCA Victor contract for an album devoted to their material, an undertaking realized in 1973; each man abandoned prior careers—Bosco in engineering, Blanc in psychiatry—to focus exclusively on music. That debut RCA collection contained “Agnus Sei,” “Bala Com Bala,” “Cabaré,” and additional titles.
In 1974 Blanc founded the Sombrás, an ensemble dedicated to combating authorship theft. The same year Elis Regina again championed their songs on a Philips LP that featured “O Mestre Sala Dos Mares,” “Dois Pra lá, Dois Pra Cá,” and “Caéa a Raposa.” The first of these, a samba-enredo honoring sailor João Cândido’s leadership of the 1910 battleship Minas Gerais mutiny, later appeared on Bosco’s RCA album Caéa a Raposa alongside “De Frente para o Crime,” “Kid Cavaquinho,” and others. Elis’s 1975 release of the enduring hit “O Bêbado e a Equilibrista” inaugurated a sustained period of commercial success for the partnership. Choro pioneer Ademilde Fonseca, long absent from the scene after her 1942 debut and known as the Rainha do Choro, returned to recording with an album that included “Títulos de Nobreza,” a piece Blanc and Bosco wrote expressly for her and that alludes to classic choro works such as “Carinhoso” and “Brejeiro.”
Blanc ended the collaboration with Bosco in 1983 and subsequently partnered with Moacyr Luz and Guinga. He issued the 1996 album 50 Años on the Alma label and, as part of the 1998 centennial celebrations of choro, supplied lyrics for four previously unpublished Pixinguinha compositions. Since 1995 he has contributed chronicles to the newspaper O Dia and, since 1996, to O Estado de São Paulo. His published volumes include Rua Dos Artistas e Arredores (Editora Codecri, Rio de Janeiro, 1979), Brasil Passado a Sujo (Editora Geração, São Paulo, 1993), and Vila Isabel-Inventário de Infância (Relume-Dumará/Rio Arte, Rio de Janeiro, 1996). He remains active as a composer, having created more than three hundred sets of lyrics.
Late in the 1960s he formed a songwriting alliance with acoustic guitarist Sílvio da Silva Jr., and the pair placed several works favorably at festivals. In 1968 their composition “A Noite, A Maré e o Amor” earned strong notice at TV Globo’s III FIC. The following year, at the II Festival Universitário de MPB in Rio de Janeiro, three of his pieces advanced: “Nada Sei de Eterno,” written with da Silva and delivered by Taiguara; “Mirante,” created with César Costa Filho and sung by Maria Creuza; and “De Esquina em Esquina,” also with Costa Filho and interpreted by Clara Nunes. At the 1970 V FIC he placed “Diva,” again with Costa Filho, while “Amigo é Pra Essas Coisas,” another collaboration with da Silva, competed in the II Festival Universitário de MPB.
After da Silva relocated to Mexico, Blanc met João Bosco, a recent arrival from Minas Gerais who played violão and had already penned several songs. The two quickly bonded and began writing together, maintaining the partnership largely by mail until vacation periods allowed Blanc to visit Ouro Preto, where they refined pieces such as “Angra” and “Agnus Sei.” Elis Regina’s 1971 recording of “Bala Com Bala,” co-written by the duo and Costa Filho, marked a decisive milestone. In 1972 they won a contest sponsored by the satirical tabloid Pasquim, whose first-place award secured the song’s inclusion in the inaugural Disco de Bolso series. Composer Sérgio Ricardo had conceived the series to spotlight emerging MPB voices by pairing each new artist with an established figure on a single disc; Tom Jobim occupied the veteran side of the first release, while João Bosco represented the newcomer. National distribution of Bosco’s work propelled Blanc and Bosco toward wider recognition, prompting both to turn professional. Bosco settled in Rio after securing an RCA Victor contract for an album devoted to their material, an undertaking realized in 1973; each man abandoned prior careers—Bosco in engineering, Blanc in psychiatry—to focus exclusively on music. That debut RCA collection contained “Agnus Sei,” “Bala Com Bala,” “Cabaré,” and additional titles.
In 1974 Blanc founded the Sombrás, an ensemble dedicated to combating authorship theft. The same year Elis Regina again championed their songs on a Philips LP that featured “O Mestre Sala Dos Mares,” “Dois Pra lá, Dois Pra Cá,” and “Caéa a Raposa.” The first of these, a samba-enredo honoring sailor João Cândido’s leadership of the 1910 battleship Minas Gerais mutiny, later appeared on Bosco’s RCA album Caéa a Raposa alongside “De Frente para o Crime,” “Kid Cavaquinho,” and others. Elis’s 1975 release of the enduring hit “O Bêbado e a Equilibrista” inaugurated a sustained period of commercial success for the partnership. Choro pioneer Ademilde Fonseca, long absent from the scene after her 1942 debut and known as the Rainha do Choro, returned to recording with an album that included “Títulos de Nobreza,” a piece Blanc and Bosco wrote expressly for her and that alludes to classic choro works such as “Carinhoso” and “Brejeiro.”
Blanc ended the collaboration with Bosco in 1983 and subsequently partnered with Moacyr Luz and Guinga. He issued the 1996 album 50 Años on the Alma label and, as part of the 1998 centennial celebrations of choro, supplied lyrics for four previously unpublished Pixinguinha compositions. Since 1995 he has contributed chronicles to the newspaper O Dia and, since 1996, to O Estado de São Paulo. His published volumes include Rua Dos Artistas e Arredores (Editora Codecri, Rio de Janeiro, 1979), Brasil Passado a Sujo (Editora Geração, São Paulo, 1993), and Vila Isabel-Inventário de Infância (Relume-Dumará/Rio Arte, Rio de Janeiro, 1996). He remains active as a composer, having created more than three hundred sets of lyrics.
Albums
