Biography
Nelson Cavaquinho stands out as perhaps the foremost samba composer after Cartola. Roughly six hundred of his pieces found their way onto recordings by prominent Brazilian artists such as Ciro Monteiro, Elis Regina, Elizeth Cardoso, Chico Buarque, Guinga, Paulinho da Viola, João Bosco, Rafael Rabello, Zizi Possi, Beth Carvalho, Toquinho, Luiz Melodia, Maria Bethânia, Leny Andrade, Clara Nunes, Jards Macalé, Itamar Assumpção, Arnaldo Antunes, Nelson Gonçalves, Zeca Pagodinho, and many more.
His actual birth occurred a year earlier than the October 28, 1910 date listed on his official certificate. Concerned by early evidence of an intense bohemian streak, his father Brás Antônio da Silva, a tuba player in Rio’s military police band, altered the document to permit earlier army enlistment. Nelson entered the world in Rio’s São Cristóvão district. At age eight the family relocated to Lapa, after which he dropped out of junior high to begin working. Nine years afterward they moved once more, this time to a working-class area of Gávea, where he first played cavaquinho at neighborhood rodas de choro and acquired his nickname. His earliest choro compositions emerged during that time, coinciding with his enlistment in the military police at nineteen, prompted by his father’s urging. The following year he married and settled in Brás de Pina, though the union proved brief because of his bohemian ways.
Gradually he started attending hillside rodas de samba and produced his debut song, “Entre a Cruz e a Espada.” Through his acquaintance with Cartola he co-wrote several sambas, yet the collaboration dissolved after Cavaquinho sold one of those pieces. He also forged ties with numerous other hill composers, although few of them contributed to his own sambas. Embracing his bohemian lifestyle, he occasionally traded songwriting credits for a night’s lodging, as he did repeatedly at Hotel Brasil, a meal, or even a romantic encounter. Despite frequent admiration from women in the bars he visited, most of his “partners” turned out to be hotel or bar proprietors or pimps. In 1938 he left the police force and took up masonry alongside Cartola. His first recorded samba, “Não Faça Vontade a Ela,” written with Rubens Campos and Henricão, appeared via Alcides Gerardi in 1939. Beginning in 1943, the popular singer Ciro Monteiro started committing Cavaquinho’s material to disc with “Apresenta-me Aquela Mulher” (with Augusto Garcez and Gustavo de Oliveira), followed by “Não te Dói a Consciência” (with Ari Monteiro); in 1945 he added “Aquele Bilhetinho” (with Augusto Garcez and Arnô Canegal), all for Victor. The following year brought Cavaquinho’s initial major success, “Rugas” (with Augusto Garcez and Ari Monteiro). Rather than capitalizing on the hit through radio exposure, he persisted in unveiling new songs at informal samba gatherings. In 1952 he relocated to Mangueira. Roberto Silva recorded “Notícia” (with Alcides Caminha and Nourival Bahia) in 1954.
That same period marked the start of his thirty-year creative alliance with Guilherme de Brito, his most steadfast and significant collaborator. The pair maintained a pact of musical fidelity that Cavaquinho occasionally breached under the influence of alcohol, as with “Rei Vagabundo” alongside José Ribeiro. Also in 1955 he released “Cinzas” (with Guilherme de Brito and R. Gaetani); 1956 yielded “Pranto de Poeta” (with Guilherme de Brito); and 1957 produced the landmark “A Flor e o Espinho” (with Guilherme de Brito and Alcides Caminha). Widely recognized as the erotic cartoonist Carlos Zéfiro, Caminha’s contribution consisted solely of three contos de réis. Guilherme de Brito later noted that whenever a third party appeared on one of their songs, that individual had paid for the credit. Roberto Silva committed “Degraus da Vida” (with Antônio Braga and César Brasil) to disc on Copacabana in 1961. The next year Cavaquinho joined Zé Keti, Paulinho da Viola, and Jair do Cavaco in the samba ensemble A Voz do Morro, which later inspired a celebrated 1968 presentation by Elton Medeiros and Paulinho da Viola. Once Cartola inaugurated his restaurant and nightclub Zicartola, Cavaquinho began performing before live audiences. He also appeared in the landmark 1964 production Opinião, while Nara Leão included his “Luz Negra” (with Hiraí Barros) on her debut album Nara. In 1965 he supplied violão on the track “Feiticeira” from Maria Bethânia’s first LP. Elizeth Cardoso featured “A Flor e o Espinho” that same year on her celebrated Elizete Sobe o Morro. He recorded “Luz Negra” again in 1966 (with Amâncio Cardoso), the year CBS issued an LP devoted exclusively to his compositions and containing three of his own performances. Three years afterward Leon Hirzman directed the short documentary Nelson Cavaquinho. In 1968 he joined Clementina de Jesus, Cartola, and Carlos Cachaça for the LP Fala Mangueira on Odeon, which never appeared on CD. His inaugural solo album, Depoimentos do Poeta, surfaced only in 1970 on Castelinho and later received a Continental CD reissue.
Elis Regina later revisited his “Folhas Secas” (with Guilherme de Brito). Beth Carvalho also recorded the piece and toured Brazil with Cavaquinho under the Pixinguinha project. He released two additional solo albums on Odeon in 1973 and 1974. That same year Eduardo Gudin, Paulo César Pinheiro, and Márcia launched the live show O Importante é que a Emoção Sobreviva, preserved on an identically titled LP that incorporated Cavaquinho’s “Tatuagem.” He contributed his distinctive rugged violão to Beth Carvalho’s Pra seu Governo track “Miragem.” She returned to his catalog the following year on Pandeiro e Viola, both albums issued by ABW. In 1977 he joined Elton Medeiros, Candeia, and Guilherme de Brito for Os Quatro Grandes do Samba. A 1985 Mangueira tribute event introduced the album Flores em Vida, featuring his songs performed by Chico Buarque, Paulinho da Viola, Christina Buarque, João Bosco, Rafael Rabello, Beth Carvalho, Toquinho, Carlinhos Vergueiro, and others, with Cavaquinho himself appearing on violão and vocals for three selections. He maintained this lifestyle until his death from pulmonary emphysema. Leny Andrade devoted the 1995 Velas album Luz Negra entirely to his work, the same year Wayne Shorter, Wallace Roney, Guilherme Vergueiro, Mads Vinding, Robertinho Silva, and Raul de Souza performed his compositions at São Paulo’s Heineken Concerts. Zizi Possi included his “Juízo Final” (with Élcio Soares) on her 1996 release Mais Simples, while the compilations Quando eu me Chamar Saudade (EMI) and Nelson Cavaquinho (RCA Victor) also appeared. Nelson Gonçalves recorded “Quando eu me Chamar Saudade” (with Guilherme de Brito) on his 1998 album Quando a Lapa era Lapa, and Jair Rodrigues featured Cavaquinho on Jair de Todas as Bossas. EMI issued another anthology in its Raízes do Samba series in 1999. Flávio Moreira da Costa published the book Nelson Cavaquinho — Enxugue os Olhos e me dê um Abraço in 2000, while Ricardo Cravo Albin staged the presentation Cavaquinho — 90 Anos. Banda Mantiqueira offered a survey of his music at the 31o. Festival de Inverno de Campos do Jordão, and the series A Música Brasileira Deste Século por seus Autores e Intérpretes appeared, containing transcriptions of twenty-five of Fernando Faro’s four hundred interviews and television programs, including those with Nelson Cavaquinho. Marisa Monte recorded “Gotas de Luar” on Memórias, Crônicas e Declarações de Amor, and the anthology Mangueira — Sambas de Terreiro e Outros Sambas, uniting Cavaquinho with other bambas, was released that year. Quinteto em Branco e Preto also recorded “Pranto de Poeta” (with Guilherme de Brito).
His actual birth occurred a year earlier than the October 28, 1910 date listed on his official certificate. Concerned by early evidence of an intense bohemian streak, his father Brás Antônio da Silva, a tuba player in Rio’s military police band, altered the document to permit earlier army enlistment. Nelson entered the world in Rio’s São Cristóvão district. At age eight the family relocated to Lapa, after which he dropped out of junior high to begin working. Nine years afterward they moved once more, this time to a working-class area of Gávea, where he first played cavaquinho at neighborhood rodas de choro and acquired his nickname. His earliest choro compositions emerged during that time, coinciding with his enlistment in the military police at nineteen, prompted by his father’s urging. The following year he married and settled in Brás de Pina, though the union proved brief because of his bohemian ways.
Gradually he started attending hillside rodas de samba and produced his debut song, “Entre a Cruz e a Espada.” Through his acquaintance with Cartola he co-wrote several sambas, yet the collaboration dissolved after Cavaquinho sold one of those pieces. He also forged ties with numerous other hill composers, although few of them contributed to his own sambas. Embracing his bohemian lifestyle, he occasionally traded songwriting credits for a night’s lodging, as he did repeatedly at Hotel Brasil, a meal, or even a romantic encounter. Despite frequent admiration from women in the bars he visited, most of his “partners” turned out to be hotel or bar proprietors or pimps. In 1938 he left the police force and took up masonry alongside Cartola. His first recorded samba, “Não Faça Vontade a Ela,” written with Rubens Campos and Henricão, appeared via Alcides Gerardi in 1939. Beginning in 1943, the popular singer Ciro Monteiro started committing Cavaquinho’s material to disc with “Apresenta-me Aquela Mulher” (with Augusto Garcez and Gustavo de Oliveira), followed by “Não te Dói a Consciência” (with Ari Monteiro); in 1945 he added “Aquele Bilhetinho” (with Augusto Garcez and Arnô Canegal), all for Victor. The following year brought Cavaquinho’s initial major success, “Rugas” (with Augusto Garcez and Ari Monteiro). Rather than capitalizing on the hit through radio exposure, he persisted in unveiling new songs at informal samba gatherings. In 1952 he relocated to Mangueira. Roberto Silva recorded “Notícia” (with Alcides Caminha and Nourival Bahia) in 1954.
That same period marked the start of his thirty-year creative alliance with Guilherme de Brito, his most steadfast and significant collaborator. The pair maintained a pact of musical fidelity that Cavaquinho occasionally breached under the influence of alcohol, as with “Rei Vagabundo” alongside José Ribeiro. Also in 1955 he released “Cinzas” (with Guilherme de Brito and R. Gaetani); 1956 yielded “Pranto de Poeta” (with Guilherme de Brito); and 1957 produced the landmark “A Flor e o Espinho” (with Guilherme de Brito and Alcides Caminha). Widely recognized as the erotic cartoonist Carlos Zéfiro, Caminha’s contribution consisted solely of three contos de réis. Guilherme de Brito later noted that whenever a third party appeared on one of their songs, that individual had paid for the credit. Roberto Silva committed “Degraus da Vida” (with Antônio Braga and César Brasil) to disc on Copacabana in 1961. The next year Cavaquinho joined Zé Keti, Paulinho da Viola, and Jair do Cavaco in the samba ensemble A Voz do Morro, which later inspired a celebrated 1968 presentation by Elton Medeiros and Paulinho da Viola. Once Cartola inaugurated his restaurant and nightclub Zicartola, Cavaquinho began performing before live audiences. He also appeared in the landmark 1964 production Opinião, while Nara Leão included his “Luz Negra” (with Hiraí Barros) on her debut album Nara. In 1965 he supplied violão on the track “Feiticeira” from Maria Bethânia’s first LP. Elizeth Cardoso featured “A Flor e o Espinho” that same year on her celebrated Elizete Sobe o Morro. He recorded “Luz Negra” again in 1966 (with Amâncio Cardoso), the year CBS issued an LP devoted exclusively to his compositions and containing three of his own performances. Three years afterward Leon Hirzman directed the short documentary Nelson Cavaquinho. In 1968 he joined Clementina de Jesus, Cartola, and Carlos Cachaça for the LP Fala Mangueira on Odeon, which never appeared on CD. His inaugural solo album, Depoimentos do Poeta, surfaced only in 1970 on Castelinho and later received a Continental CD reissue.
Elis Regina later revisited his “Folhas Secas” (with Guilherme de Brito). Beth Carvalho also recorded the piece and toured Brazil with Cavaquinho under the Pixinguinha project. He released two additional solo albums on Odeon in 1973 and 1974. That same year Eduardo Gudin, Paulo César Pinheiro, and Márcia launched the live show O Importante é que a Emoção Sobreviva, preserved on an identically titled LP that incorporated Cavaquinho’s “Tatuagem.” He contributed his distinctive rugged violão to Beth Carvalho’s Pra seu Governo track “Miragem.” She returned to his catalog the following year on Pandeiro e Viola, both albums issued by ABW. In 1977 he joined Elton Medeiros, Candeia, and Guilherme de Brito for Os Quatro Grandes do Samba. A 1985 Mangueira tribute event introduced the album Flores em Vida, featuring his songs performed by Chico Buarque, Paulinho da Viola, Christina Buarque, João Bosco, Rafael Rabello, Beth Carvalho, Toquinho, Carlinhos Vergueiro, and others, with Cavaquinho himself appearing on violão and vocals for three selections. He maintained this lifestyle until his death from pulmonary emphysema. Leny Andrade devoted the 1995 Velas album Luz Negra entirely to his work, the same year Wayne Shorter, Wallace Roney, Guilherme Vergueiro, Mads Vinding, Robertinho Silva, and Raul de Souza performed his compositions at São Paulo’s Heineken Concerts. Zizi Possi included his “Juízo Final” (with Élcio Soares) on her 1996 release Mais Simples, while the compilations Quando eu me Chamar Saudade (EMI) and Nelson Cavaquinho (RCA Victor) also appeared. Nelson Gonçalves recorded “Quando eu me Chamar Saudade” (with Guilherme de Brito) on his 1998 album Quando a Lapa era Lapa, and Jair Rodrigues featured Cavaquinho on Jair de Todas as Bossas. EMI issued another anthology in its Raízes do Samba series in 1999. Flávio Moreira da Costa published the book Nelson Cavaquinho — Enxugue os Olhos e me dê um Abraço in 2000, while Ricardo Cravo Albin staged the presentation Cavaquinho — 90 Anos. Banda Mantiqueira offered a survey of his music at the 31o. Festival de Inverno de Campos do Jordão, and the series A Música Brasileira Deste Século por seus Autores e Intérpretes appeared, containing transcriptions of twenty-five of Fernando Faro’s four hundred interviews and television programs, including those with Nelson Cavaquinho. Marisa Monte recorded “Gotas de Luar” on Memórias, Crônicas e Declarações de Amor, and the anthology Mangueira — Sambas de Terreiro e Outros Sambas, uniting Cavaquinho with other bambas, was released that year. Quinteto em Branco e Preto also recorded “Pranto de Poeta” (with Guilherme de Brito).
Albums
