Biography
Luperce Miranda, followed eventually by Jacob do Bandolim, established the mandolin as a recognized voice in Brazilian popular music. Prior to their efforts the instrument had appeared only occasionally and strictly in supporting roles. Their growing work as soloists brought it into wider prominence. Miranda collaborated on recordings and performances with virtually every major figure in the genre, producing roughly 900 sides in both featured and ensemble settings. He also composed approximately 500 pieces across choro, valse, and frevo. In 1970 the Image and Sound Museum of Rio honored him as the first recipient of the Bacharel da Música Popular Brasileira title. A respected teacher as well, he established the Academia de Música Luperce Miranda. Possessing flawless technique, he shaped his approach within the Neapolitan tradition and thereby left Jacob do Bandolim to create a distinctly Brazilian school for the instrument.
He took up the mandolin at age eight and completed his first piece, a frevo, at fifteen. The following year he assembled the nine-piece Jazz Leão do Norte and performed on piano within the ensemble. Despite widespread reports and his own statements to the contrary, he never performed with Turunas da Mauricéia. The group nevertheless cut three of his compositions for their inaugural Odeon release in 1927, all sung by Augusto Calheiros (the Patativa do Norte): the canção “Belezas do Sertão,” the samba “O Pequeno Tururu,” and the embolada “Pinião,” which became the principal carnival hit of 1928. That same year he organized the group Voz do Sertão, which featured the violonista Meira, later a nationally known figure. At twenty-four he relocated to Rio at the invitation of João Pernambuco and Pixinguinha, bringing Voz do Sertão with him; several of his songs appeared on Parlophon shortly afterward. In 1929 he founded Regional Luperce Miranda, which secured a contract with Rádio Clube do Brasil. Alongside Almirante he recorded for Bando de Tangarás, and Almirante cut his “Vaca Maiada,” co-written with Manuel Lino. He provided accompaniment for leading artists including Carmen Miranda, for whom he composed the introduction to “No Tabuleiro da Baiana,” as well as Francisco Alves, Mário Reis, and Noel Rosa on the first recording of “Com que Roupa?”
In 1931 he appeared in Argentina, performing on Radio El Mundo with Carmen Miranda, Francisco Alves, Mário Reis, Tute, Célia Zenatti, and Nestor Figueiredo. He joined Rádio Mayrink Veiga in 1936 and Rádio Nacional in 1945, both in Rio. After moving back to the Northeast in 1946 he returned to Rádio Nacional in 1955 and remained there until retiring in 1973. He toured the Federal Republic of Germany in 1950. In 1994 the Marcus Pereira label issued the historically focused CD História de um Bandolim; the next year the contemporary virtuoso Pedro Amorim released Pedro Amorim Toca Luperce Miranda on Saci.
He took up the mandolin at age eight and completed his first piece, a frevo, at fifteen. The following year he assembled the nine-piece Jazz Leão do Norte and performed on piano within the ensemble. Despite widespread reports and his own statements to the contrary, he never performed with Turunas da Mauricéia. The group nevertheless cut three of his compositions for their inaugural Odeon release in 1927, all sung by Augusto Calheiros (the Patativa do Norte): the canção “Belezas do Sertão,” the samba “O Pequeno Tururu,” and the embolada “Pinião,” which became the principal carnival hit of 1928. That same year he organized the group Voz do Sertão, which featured the violonista Meira, later a nationally known figure. At twenty-four he relocated to Rio at the invitation of João Pernambuco and Pixinguinha, bringing Voz do Sertão with him; several of his songs appeared on Parlophon shortly afterward. In 1929 he founded Regional Luperce Miranda, which secured a contract with Rádio Clube do Brasil. Alongside Almirante he recorded for Bando de Tangarás, and Almirante cut his “Vaca Maiada,” co-written with Manuel Lino. He provided accompaniment for leading artists including Carmen Miranda, for whom he composed the introduction to “No Tabuleiro da Baiana,” as well as Francisco Alves, Mário Reis, and Noel Rosa on the first recording of “Com que Roupa?”
In 1931 he appeared in Argentina, performing on Radio El Mundo with Carmen Miranda, Francisco Alves, Mário Reis, Tute, Célia Zenatti, and Nestor Figueiredo. He joined Rádio Mayrink Veiga in 1936 and Rádio Nacional in 1945, both in Rio. After moving back to the Northeast in 1946 he returned to Rádio Nacional in 1955 and remained there until retiring in 1973. He toured the Federal Republic of Germany in 1950. In 1994 the Marcus Pereira label issued the historically focused CD História de um Bandolim; the next year the contemporary virtuoso Pedro Amorim released Pedro Amorim Toca Luperce Miranda on Saci.
Albums
