Biography
Ederaldo Gentil ranks among Bahia’s foremost sambistas and composers. Artists including Jair Rodrigues, Alcione, Roberto Ribeiro, Maria Bethânia, Miltinho, Eliana Pittman, Batatinha, Leny Andrade, Agepê, and Conjunto Nosso Samba have committed his material to disc, among many others. Standout pieces comprise “De Menor,” “A Bahia Vai Bem,” “Eu E A Viola,” “Rose,” “Impressão Digital,” “A Volta Do Mundo,” “Feira Do Rolo,” and additional successes. He enjoyed repeated triumphs in Salvador’s annual Carnival competition, securing consecutive victories across several editions. From early childhood he followed his father through the city’s Carnival celebrations. In 1958 he joined the bateria of the neighborhood samba school Filhos do Tororó; shortly afterward he entered its ala dos compositores, where his works entered the school’s rehearsal repertoire. The 1967 mayoral contest brought victory with “Rio De Lágrimas,” a feat duplicated in the two following years. That same year Filhos do Tororó paraded to his samba-enredo “Dois de Fevereiro.” The subsequent year the school earned top honors with “História dos Carnavais.” Tião Motorista recorded the 1969 contest winner “Esquece a Tristeza.” Also in 1969 Gentil left Filhos do Tororó, after which every other Salvador samba school commissioned sambas-enredo from him; in the 1970 Carnival all nine remaining schools performed his pieces. That year Jair Rodrigues scored major success with “Berequetê” and the Edil Pacheco collaboration “Alô Madrugada” on the Talento e Bossa LP. Gentil further claimed the Festival de Sambas de Terreiro de Salvador with “Samba Chama.” He relocated to São Paulo in 1972, appearing on television and radio while seeking a solo album, yet returned to Bahia the same year without securing a contract. His “In Le In Lá” captured the 1973 annual contest; later included on his second LP, the piece marked his final samba-enredo. Chantecler summoned him back to São Paulo in 1975, where the single pairing “O Ouro E A Madeira” with “Triste Samba” appeared; the former achieved nationwide reach through Nosso Samba’s version. The single cleared the path for the debut album Samba, Canto Livre De Um Povo, issued the same year, followed by Pequenino, which solidified his national standing. In the late 1970s he joined Edil Pacheco and Batatinha for the historic presentation O Samba Nasceu Na Bahia. The independently released Identidade appeared on Nosso Som in 1984. Edil Pacheco produced the 1999 tribute Pérolas Finas, enlisting Carlinhos Brown, Elza Soares, Beth Carvalho, and Gilberto Gil alongside Cristóvão Bastos, Luciana Rabello, Carlinhos Marques, Ivan Bastos, and Maurício Carrilho.
Albums
