Carlinhos Brown

Carlinhos Brown, an exceptionally gifted percussionist, extended his reach into songwriting and vocals, unveiling the full scope of his musical strengths across numerous albums issued after the 1996 release Alfagamabetizado. More than two hundred of his compositions have been interpreted by artists such as Marisa Monte on “Segue o Seco,” “Maria de Verdade,” “Arrepio,” and “Magamalabares,” as well as Gal Costa, Daniela Mercury on “Rapunzel” and “Rimas Irmãs,” Cássia Eller, Daúde on “Lavanda,” and Sepultura; over thirty of these tracks climbed Brazil’s top charts. Sérgio Mendes’s Brasileiro, which incorporated five Brown songs, received a Grammy, while Brown also collaborated in the studio with Herbie Hancock.

His earliest and most influential percussion teacher, Mestre Pintado do Bongô (Osvaldo Alves da Silva), instilled a profound respect for Brazil’s rich folk traditions, above all those of Bahia. Already counted among Bahia’s most respected percussionists, Brown joined a modest Salvador recording firm in 1980, sharpening his production and engineering craft through jingle sessions. At the same moment he began fusing Brazilian rhythms with international pop, placing himself among the first wave of world-music innovators. His debut radio success arrived when Luís Caldas recorded “Visão Do Ciclope” in 1984. The next year Caetano Veloso invited him into his band; Veloso later cut Brown’s “Meia Lua Inteira” for the 1989 album Estrangeiro, which subsequently entered the soundtrack of the telenovela Tieta. Throughout that period Brown worked with Gilberto Gil and Gal Costa and joined global tours led by João Gilberto, Djavan, and João Bosco.

In the 1990s he assembled Timbalada, a percussion ensemble of more than 120 instrumentalists and singers that issued several albums and built its own thriving career, beginning with appearances at the Carnival of Bahia. Timbalada became Brown’s first vehicle for social projects aimed at impoverished young people in Salvador, with the explicit goal of providing schooling for street children.