During Brazil’s Golden Age of song, Nuno Roland emerged as one of its most admired voices. He began his career as a jazz crooner, soon earning recognition as São Paulo’s finest singer while scoring repeated Carnival successes. Military service took him to Porto Alegre, RS, where he encountered Lupicínio Rodrigues and later committed the composer’s earliest work, “Lenita,” to disc. Within his battalion operated the jazz ensemble Jazz do 7o. BC; Roland served as its vocalist while Vidal, destined to rank among the era’s premier double-bass players, handled tuba. The group debuted on Rádio Sociedade in 1933. After his discharge, Roland remained at the station for half a year under the name Reinol de Oliveira.
An invitation brought him to São Paulo in 1934. There he performed on Rádio Educadora Paulista, steadily building an audience, and made his first recordings for Odeon that same year—“Pensemos Num Lindo Futuro” and “Cantigas de Quem Te Vê,” both by Ulisses Lelot Filho. Within three years he had been acclaimed the city’s leading vocalist. Radio director Rangel Moreira bestowed the stage name Nuno Roland, under which the singer interpreted Bing Crosby and Dick Powell material at private functions. In 1936 he relocated to Rio de Janeiro alongside Celso Guimarães and Sônia de Carvalho to help launch Rádio Nacional, remaining with the station for many years. Between 1937 and 1948 he also worked as crooner for the Copacabana Palace orchestra, cutting “Quando O Luar Está Contente” and the subsequent “Coitadinho do Pará.”
Switching to Odeon in 1937, he released two immediate successes: the samba “Amor Por Correspondência” (Benedito Lacerda/Jorge Faraj) and the waltz “Iracema” (Benedito Lacerda/Aldo Cabral), staying with the label until 1940. That year he paused his recording career, resuming only in 1947 with the Carnival march “Pirata da Perna de Pau” (João de Barro). The following year brought further hits—“Tem Gato Na Tuba” and “Fim De Semana em Paquetá,” both by João de Barro and Antônio Almeida—while 1949 yielded “Tem Marujo No Samba,” recorded with Emilinha Borba. He also enjoyed popularity with Lamartine Babo’s anthems for the Carioca clubs Botafogo and Olaria. Later he issued the album Nuno Roland Recordando on Todamérica and scored again with the marchinha “Mag, Inês e Ana” (Jorge de Castro/V. Falcão/A. França).
