Maria Gadú

Maria Gadú stands out among today’s leading Brazilian singer-songwriters, her gravel-toned guitar work weaving the earthy, street-level textures of her native São Paulo together with unexpected infusions of samba, Afro-beat, and funk. Born Mayra Correa Aygadoux in 1986, she received early encouragement from her hippie parents, who surrounded her with classical recordings while also exposing her to the work of samba legend Adoniran Barbosa, superstar Marisa Monte, and poet/composer Chico Buarque. She began composing at ten, and one of those early pieces, “Shimbalaie,” would later appear on her first album. After playing São Paulo bar circuits from the age of thirteen, she spent time crisscrossing Europe alongside percussionist Doga, then settled in Rio de Janeiro at twenty-one. There, television director Jayme Monjardim caught her interpretation of Jacques Brel’s “Ne Me Quitte Pas” and invited her to appear on the program Quando Falo o Coracao, a tribute to his mother, singer Maysa. The broadcast generated enough attention for her to sign with Rio’s Slap label; her self-titled 2009 debut earned two Latin Grammy nominations and led directly to a nationwide co-headlining tour with longtime idol Caetano Veloso.