Ivon Curi

Ivon Curi pioneered the solo performance format across Brazil, sustaining an active professional life from 1944 through 1993 that encompassed numerous recordings plus work in radio, television, and theater as a humorist, singer, composer, and actor. Among his standout compositions were “Tá Fartando Coisa em Mim,” “Retrato de Maria,” “João Bobo,” “Farinhada,” “Casar é Bom” written with Meira Guimarães, and “Me Leva,” the latter performed as a duo with Carmélia Alves; that track became her first baião and launched the string of recordings that prompted King of Baião Luís Gonzaga to crown her Queen of Baião in the 1950s.

He entered the profession as crooner with Orquestra Zacarias at Rio de Janeiro’s Copacabana Palace Hotel. Rádio Nacional engaged him in 1947, placing him alongside leading artists of the era such as Marlene and Emilinha Borba. His initial release arrived in 1949 with the baião “Me Leva” (Hervé Cordovil/Rochinha) again shared with Carmélia Alves. The first of three films featuring him was Watson Macedo’s 1950 production Aviso Aos Navegantes; that same year Continental issued his debut album. Strongly shaped by French chanson, Curi turned in 1952 to a humorous style and a Northeastern songbook. He toured Europe in 1956 and 1957, appearing in Portugal where he was judged the leading exponent of Brazilian music. The 1971 retrospective Ivon Curi Em Todos Os Tempos at Teatro Casa Grande surveyed his career to that point. In 1993 he hosted the television program Show da Manchete and headlined the stage show A França e Quinze Saudades, interpreting French songs whose material filled his final solo album, Douce France.