Eduardo Gudin

An influential Brazilian composer, Eduardo Gudin has had his compositions captured on record by Dick Farney, João Nogueira, Márcia, Paulinho Nogueira, Paulo César Pinheiro, Quarteto em Cy, Roberto Riberti, Paulinho da Viola, Elizeth Cardoso, Beth Carvalho, Gal Costa, Clara Nunes, MPB-4, Leila Pinheiro, Jair Rodrigues, and additional interpreters.

Gudin first took up the violão at age 13, later receiving instruction from Antônio Ramos, Leo Peracchi, Nelson Ayres, and Téo de Barros. At 16 he appeared on TV Record’s O Fino da Bossa, performing the Ary Barroso classic “Morena Boca de Ouro,” which João Gilberto had also recorded, at the invitation of host Elis Regina. In 1968 he left engineering studies to devote himself wholly to music; that same year he participated in TV Record’s IV FMPB with “Choro do Amor Vivido,” written with Walter de Carvalho, featuring Hermeto Pascoal’s arrangements and delivered by Os Três Morais. The following year “Gostei de Ver,” a collaboration with Marco Antônio da Silva Ramos, placed fourth at the same festival. At the IV Festival Universitário da TV Tupi, however, “E lá se Vão Meus Anéis,” again written with Paulo César Pinheiro, took first prize and became a hit in the version by Os Originais do Samba. Gudin himself recorded the song on his debut solo album for Odeon, issued in 1973 and featuring guest vocals by Jane of Os Três Morais.

Throughout the 1970s Gudin served as a regular accompanist for singer Márcia. His first album, Eduardo Gudin, appeared in 1973 with arrangements by Hermeto Pascoal. With the choro ensemble Regional do Evandro he performed frequently and contributed to the Marcus Pereira releases Brasil, Flauta, Bandolim e Violão and A Música Genial de Pixinguinha, both devoted to historic documentation. In 1974 he mounted the show O Importante é que Nossa Emoção Sobreviva alongside Márcia and Paulo César Pinheiro; the following year Odeon issued an LP under the same title, its name drawn from the song “Mordaça,” a pointed allusion to Brazil’s repressive political climate. The production enjoyed great success in both São Paulo and Rio, prompting a 1976 sequel, O Importante é que Nossa Emoção Sobreviva II, which also marked the first recording of Guinga. Subsequent partnerships linked Gudin with Paulinho da Viola, Arrigo Barnabé, Adoniram Barbosa, Caetano Veloso, Aldir Blanc, Elton Medeiros, Paulo Vanzolini, Hermínio Belo de Carvalho, and Roberto Riberti. Beth Carvalho included his “Maior é Deus” on Pra seu Governo, turning it into a nationwide hit, and later recorded “A Velhice da Porta-Bandeira.” Gudin released Mãos Vazias in 1975 and Coração Marginal in 1978, both on Odeon, and in 1979 conceived the I Festival Universitário da TV Cultura.

During the 1980s “Paulista,” written with J.C. Costa Netto, became a hit in the interpretation of his wife, Vânia Bastos. Gal Costa recorded “Bem-bom,” composed with Arrigo Barnabé and Carlos Rennó, and titled an album after the song. Gudin issued Fogo Calmo das Velas in 1982, Ensaio do Dia in 1983, and Balãozinho in 1986, the last two on Continental. That same year Leila Pinheiro performed “Verde,” another Costa Netto collaboration, at TV Globo’s Festival dos Festivais; the track propelled the young singer to prominence and she later recorded “Paulista” in 1991. In 1989 Gudin and Vânia Bastos released an album for Eldorado. The next year he helped establish São Paulo’s Orquestra Jazz Sinfônica. As producer he oversaw Beth Carvalho Canta o Samba de São Paulo, honored with the 1994 Sharp prize for Best Samba Album, and his own Eduardo Gudin & Notícias dum Brasil, which featured Mônica Salmaso, Renato Braz, Luiz Bastos, and Márcia Lopes.

In 1996 Gudin joined Márcia and Paulo César Pinheiro for Tudo o que Mais nos Uniu, revisiting the celebrated show O Importante é que Nossa Emoção Sobreviva. He also produced recordings and concerts by Mônica Salmaso and violonista Paulo Bellinati devoted to the Afro-sambas of Baden Powell and Vinícius de Moraes. Pra Tirar o Chapéu appeared in 1998.