Biography
When Jair reached the age of fifteen, his relatives relocated to the larger city of Colatina in Espírito Santo so he could obtain formal training. He completed his secondary education at Colégio São Vicente de Paula in Petrópolis, Rio de Janeiro. Already at thirteen he was producing his own unpublished adaptations of foreign hits. University plans were abandoned after his father died, prompting the youth to take employment at the Diário da Manhã newspaper. He learned every department of the publication yet remained devoted to music. While reporting on a theatrical production featuring singer and composer Custódio Mesquita, Jair offered an ironic remark that the performer was a better composer than interpreter. The comment reached Custódio, who requested a meeting. With youthful directness Jair suggested a partnership, but the established composer declined, prompting Jair to recognize that only a larger city would bring him serious attention. In 1940 he assumed the directorship of Rádio Clube do Espírito Santo, where he created and produced numerous programs and made his first appearance as an announcer. By then he was supplying lyrics to the duo Moacir Araújo and Clóvis Cruz as well as to the carnival blocos of Vitória. In 1941 he moved to Rio, initially struggling as a freelance contributor of radio chronicles to the magazines Carioca and Vamos Ler. Payment arrived only upon publication, so he sought help from the influential lawyer Clóvis Ramalhete, who secured him an announcing post at Rádio Clube do Brasil. While handling assorted writing and advertising assignments, he continued pursuing composition. During one broadcast he finally met his longtime idol, the pianist and hit composer José Maria de Abreu. Grieving the loss of his partner Francisco Matoso, José Maria had lost interest in new work. Jair lingered at the station after his own shifts; on one such occasion radio actor Arnaldo Amaral mentioned the need for a Portuguese version of the Mexican hit “Maria Elena” by Lorenzo Barcelata. Jair offered to supply the text and delivered it within half an hour. Arnaldo recorded the version for Continental, and it became a success. This opened contact with José Maria, who asked Jair to consider some of his melodies. Their first collaboration, “Bem Sei,” appeared in 1942. Over the next decade they produced the hits “Um cantinho e você” (1948), “Ponto Final” (1949), and “Alguém com tu” (1952). In 1944 Jair joined the roster of the prestigious Rádio Nacional, where he was later entrusted with announcing presidential events. He subsequently worked at Rádio Mundial, hosting the popular program Discos na Vitrina, and at Rádio Mayrink Veiga. During these years he met the leading composers of the era and entered Brazil’s musical circles, forming friendships with Lamartine Babo, João de Barro, and Dunga. With Dunga he wrote “Conceição,” which Cauby Peixoto made his signature recording. With Alcyr Pires Vermelho he created, among other successes, “Se alguém telefonar.” Esteemed interpreters such as Dick Farney and Sílvio Caldas lent further prestige to his catalog. As a music critic Jair could be sharply ironic. When Ari Barroso publicly denounced corruption and payola in carnival music, naming among others the disk jockey Oldemar Magalhães of Rádio Tupi, Revista do Rádio opened its pages to the debate. Oldemar remained silent, yet Jair, writing as composer, journalist, and radio programmer, countered that Ari belonged to the past, had once been capable but now produced nothing, and was acting from resentment. He likened the composer to the Uruguayan footballer who led his team to the 1950 World Cup victory: “Ari Barroso is the Obdulio Varela of Brazilian music: argues a lot because he knows he’s playing so little.” Jair later had to retract the remark when Ari’s “Risque” became an enormous hit and the composer took satisfaction in seeing Jair list the samba-canção in Revista do Rádio as the season’s biggest success. While serving as secretary of the copyright agency UBC, Jair met Evaldo Gouveia in 1958; on that same day they wrote “Conversa,” later recorded by Alaíde Costa for Victor. The partnership remains active, having yielded more than 150 songs. Although they favor boleros, they also produce sambas-canção, valses, marchas-rancho, tender ballads, and other forms. Miltinho recorded “Poema do Olhar” in 1962 and Morgana recorded “E a vida continua.” In 1963 they composed “Samba sem pim-pom,” “O bilhete,” and “Serenata da chuva.” Altemar Dutra, whose taste for dramatic, melancholic material aligned with the style then known in Brazil as “fossa” or “dor-de-cotovelo,” became their most consistent interpreter, recording “Tudo de mim” (1963), “Sentimental demais,” “O trovador,” “Que queres tu de mim,” and “Somos iguais” (all 1964). Wilson Simonal recorded “Garota moderna” in 1965; Jair Rodrigues recorded “O conde” in 1969; “Minha valsa para você” followed the next year. Portela’s samba school presented the 1973 carnival entry “O mundo melhor de Pixinguinha.” Jair Amorim never sought to revolutionize Brazilian song; instead he carried forward the torch of sentimentalism that Portuguese colonizers had passed to Brazilians. Although his grandiloquent, emotional manner declined after bossa nova, it was revived by Tropicália. However much one may wish otherwise, the dramatic, histrionic, theatrical shadow never disappears; it remains lodged in the hidden recesses of the Brazilian soul.