Biography
A pivotal presence in spreading Brazilian popular music beyond its borders, Aloysio de Oliveira joined Carmen Miranda’s entire international trajectory alongside the Bando da Lua and later oversaw recordings by numerous other Brazilian performers in the United States. The ensemble scored multiple successes and amassed an extensive recorded output during its years with him. He contributed to several Walt Disney productions made under the Good Neighbor policy. As a songwriter he supplied enduring standards to Tom Jobim, among them “Dindi,” “Inútil Paisagem,” and “Só Tinha Que Ser Com Você,” plus additional pieces such as “Eu Preciso de Você,” “Demais,” “De Você Eu Gosto,” and “Samba Torto.” From childhood Oliveira was drawn to music, regularly visiting a neighbor’s residence where Joubert de Carvalho played piano; there he also encountered Sílvio Caldas, then employed as a driver by another resident. At age ten he began studying guitar under Hélio Jordão Pereira. Two years afterward the Osório brothers—Armando, Stênio, and Afonso—settled in the same neighborhood, prompting the five youths to start a musical collective that later expanded with Vadeco, Ivo Astolfi, and Astolfi’s six cousins into the group known as Bloco do Bimbo. In 1929 Oliveira met Carmen Miranda at Josué de Barros’s Rio de Janeiro home; following Barros’s counsel he trimmed the ensemble to seven members, creating the Bando da Lua that issued its debut album in 1931. The following year he entered dental school, completing the degree though he never practiced the profession. The group quickly attained popularity through its notably disciplined structure. In 1935 Oliveira appeared in Wallace Downey’s film Alô, Alô Brasil and went on to work in further Downey projects, including Estudantes (1935), Alô, Alô, Carnaval (1936, directed by Adhemar Gonzaga), and Banana da Terra (1938, directed by João de Barro). In 1936, modeling himself on Fred Astaire, he sang and danced in the revue Parada das Maravilhas at Rio’s Teatro Municipal. While backing Miranda at the Cassino da Urca, the Bando da Lua was insisted upon by the singer as her support unit for the U.S. tour that began in 1939; after her breakthrough the musicians took part in motion pictures and Broadway productions. During that time Oliveira joined Walt Disney’s team developing government-commissioned Good Neighbor films such as Saludos Amigos, in which he performed Ary Barroso’s “Aquarela do Brasil,” and The Three Caballeros; serving as a Brazilian-culture advisor, he helped define the character Zé Carioca and recruited Zezinho do Banjo to voice the parrot. In 1948 he reassembled Zezinho do Banjo, Afonso Osório, Vadeco, Gringo do Pandeiro, and Chico Guerrero for a triumphant eight-week engagement with Miranda at London’s Palladium. Following the original Bando da Lua’s disbandment in 1944, Oliveira stayed with Miranda and assembled a replacement lineup drawn from former Anjos do Inferno members Aluísio Ferreira, Harry Vasco de Almeida, and Russo do Pandeiro. After the group’s final dissolution in 1955 upon Miranda’s death, he returned to Brazil and became A&R director at Odeon the next year. In 1959 he supervised João Gilberto’s landmark album Chega de Saudade for Odeon, widely viewed as the inaugural bossa-nova release, and also introduced Elza Soares, Alaíde Costa, Silvinha Telles, Sérgio Ricardo, and additional talents. In 1961 he produced the shows Skindô, featuring Odete Lara, Trio Irakitan, Moacir Franco, and Silvinha Telles among others, and Tio Samba, with Trio Marabá, Chocolate, and José Tobias. He likewise took part in the 1962 Bossa Nova Festival at Carnegie Hall. In 1963 he established his own label, Elenco, active until 1968 when its catalog was acquired by PolyGram; the imprint issued acclaimed recordings and introduced Edu Lobo, MPB-4, and Quarteto em Cy. Returning to the United States in 1968, Oliveira focused on producing Brazilian artists for Warner. He resettled in Brazil in 1972 and continued his production work for various companies.
Albums
