Jards Macalé

Since 1964, when Elizeth Cardoso first captured his "Meu Mundo é Seu" composed with Roberto Nascimento, Jards Macalé has brought both rigorous preparation and inventive flair to Brazil’s music world. His defiant streak earned him the label maldito, yet he matured by rejecting categories altogether while crafting thoughtful songs laced with sharp observation. Raised amid Rio’s samba circles by a pianist mother and an accordion-playing father, he acquired the nickname Macalé as a boy playing soccer poorly on Ipanema beach, where he was teased as the least skilled member of the Botafogo squad. Close ties with Chiquinho Araújo, son of Severino Araújo, gave him valuable early guidance, while neighbor Marilena taught him the violão. In 1959 he and Chiquinho formed the ensemble Dois no Balanço; the lineup eventually grew to six musicians before disbanding in 1963. By then he had already begun writing arrangements and lyrics. Elizeth Cardoso recorded “Meu Mundo é Seu” in 1964, and Nara Leão cut “Amo Tanto” two years later.

Turning professional in 1965, he filled in for Roberto Nascimento during the São Paulo run of the landmark Opinião production and joined the equally historic Arena Conta Bahia. The following year he supplied musical direction for Maria Bethânia’s Recital. In 1967 he pursued formal studies at Pró-Arte with Guerra-Peixe in piano and orchestration, Peter Daulsberg on cello, Ester Scliar for musical analysis, and Turíbio Santos and Jodacil Damasceno on violão. Though a discreet participant in Tropicália, he began songwriting collaborations with Capinam in 1968 and scored the films Macunaíma by Joaquim Pedro de Andrade and O Dragão Da Maldade Contra O Santo Guerreiro by Gláuber Rocha. Success arrived in 1969 with “Pulsars e Quasars,” “Pula-Pula,” and “Movimento Dos Barcos,” all written with Capinan, plus “Hotel Das Estrelas” and “Archaic Lonely Star Blues,” both with Duda. He joined Gilberto Gil on recordings of “Aquele Abraço” and “Cultura E Civilização” and served as musical director, arranger, and vocalist for Gal Costa’s album Cultura e Civilização. That same year his appearance at the IV FIC with “Gotham City” provoked intense audience disapproval.

He issued the double-single Só Morto containing his song “Soluços” and further numbers written with Capinan and Duda, contributed to Gal Costa’s Le-Gal, and backed her on the Meu Nome é Gal show and ensuing national tour. In 1970, working with Waly Salomão (then styled Waly Sailormoon), he created “Vapor Barato” and “Mal Secreto,” both later recorded by Gal Costa, who had already performed “Hotel Das Estrelas.” Bethânia recorded “Anjo Exterminado” and “Movimento Dos Barcos,” while Clara Nunes cut “O Mais-Que-Perfeito.” “Vapor Barato” later served as the theme for the award-winning 1995 film Terra Estrangeira and was revived by O Rappa. He directed the music for Costa’s Deixa Sangrar and composed the score for Antônio Carlos Fontoura’s A Rainha Diaba. That year he accepted an invitation from Caetano Veloso to travel to London, where the Brazilian musicians performed at Queen Elizabeth Music Hall and also appeared in Amsterdam, Paris, and Zurich. He contributed to Jorge Mautner’s O Demiurgo in 1971, handled arrangements and direction for Caetano Veloso’s Transa the next year, and issued his debut solo album, Jards Macalé. In 1973 he organized the ONU-sponsored Banquete dos Mendigos, featuring Chico Buarque, Milton Nascimento, Gonzaguinha, Jorge Mautner, Raul Seixas, Gal Costa, and Dominguinhos. His second LP, Aprender a Nadar, appeared in 1974 with additional partnerships involving Waly Sailormoon; he also scored Nelson Pereira dos Santos’s Amuleto de Ogum, in which he acted, and Ana Carolina’s documentary Getúlio Vargas. He performed “Princípio Do Prazer” at TV Globo’s Festival Abertura in 1975, while the nationally touring Sorriso Verão earned strong praise from both critics and audiences between 1975 and 1977. In 1976 he collaborated with the storied Carioca malandro Moreira da Silva on the Seis e Meia project and reunited with him two years later for the touring Pixinguinha project.

During 1977 he supplied music for Nelson Pereira dos Santos’s Tenda Dos Milagres and Hugo Carvana’s Se Segura, Malandro, created arrangements for Miguel Farias’s Na Ponta Da Faca, and released the album Contrastes. The double album Banquete Dos Mendigos, taped during the earlier show and suppressed for six years under military censorship, finally appeared in 1979. Additional recordings followed, among them the 1994 release Let’s Play That, recorded a decade earlier with Naná Vasconcelos. In 1998 he joined Paulo Moura for a series of concerts marking the ninetieth anniversary of Cartola’s birth, performing in São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Londrina, and Salvador.