Meira

Meira stood out as the leading six-string violonista within the regional ensemble tradition, while his talents as a composer secured steady income apart from performance work. Through his teaching he helped shape several notable players, among them Baden Powell, Maurício Carrilho, and Rafael Rabello. Already active in music as a youth, he entered the original lineup of Luperce Miranda’s Voz do Sertão in 1927 alongside his brother Robson. The following year the ensemble traveled to Rio, where severe difficulties arose and Robson ultimately succumbed to tuberculosis. In the aftermath Meira left for Europe without any definite plans. Upon his return to Rio, circumstances improved once his composition “Falando ao Teu Retrato” appeared in print in 1930 and received its first recording by Augusto Calheiros in 1935. Meira’s initial sideman session occurred in 1934 when he supported Benedito Lacerda’s regional on the choro “Primavera,” later retitled “Arranca Toco.” Substituting in 1937 for violonista Carlos Lentine within the same ensemble, he formed an enduring and highly productive violão partnership with Dino. Together with Canhoto on cavaquinho they emerged as one of the most respected accompanying trios in the history of the regionals. Several of his pieces achieved popularity during the 1940s, including the valse “Quando a Saudade Apertar” (co-written with Leonel Azevedo in 1942), “Aperto de Mão” (with Dino and Augusto Mesquita, waxed by Isaura Garcia for Victor in 1943), the choro “Deixa Pra Lá” (with Augusto Mesquita, also cut by Isaura in 1945), and “Amar Foi Minha Ruína” (with Augusto Mesquita, recorded by Gilberto Alves in 1947). Following Lacerda’s retirement in 1950 the unit continued as the Regional do Canhoto, enjoying its own successful run of recordings that featured the members’ choros and backed additional artists. Meira’s samba-canção “Molambo,” again composed with Augusto Mesquita, found favor in versions by Roberto Luna and Cauby Peixoto. In 1965 he took part in the landmark production Samba Pede Passagem authored by Sidney Miller and contributed to the Odeon LP Rosa de Ouro that same year.