Paulinho Boca De Cantor

Paulinho Boca de Cantor launched his solo path in 1979 after establishing himself as a founding member of the groundbreaking electric choro and samba ensemble Os Novos Baianos. His earliest paid engagement came in 1962 alongside Cartilho e sua Orquestra. Soon afterward he joined Perinho Albuquerque, Tuzé de Abreu, Perna Fróes, Tutty Moreno, Moacyr Albuquerque, and Bira Silva to assemble the Orquestra Avanço. In 1968 he joined Galvão and Moraes Moreira to stage the production Desembarque dos Bichos Depois do Dilúvio at Salvador’s Vila Velha theater in Bahia, where Pepeu Gomes and Baby Consuelo also appeared. The following year the collective adopted the name Os Novos Baianos and embarked on a landmark chapter in Brazilian popular music. Once the group disbanded, Boca de Cantor issued his debut solo album, Paulinho Boca de Cantor: Bom de Chinfra e Bom de Amor, in 1979. His 1981 release Valeu achieved the highest sales among independent albums in 1982; the record featured the tracks “Estrela Manhã” (J. Veloso/Boca de Cantor/Carlô), “Vestido de Prata” (Jorge Alfredo), “Valeu” (Paulo Leminski), and “Rocky Mary” (Lula Martins). In 1982 he shared the stage in Rome with Dorival Caymmi, Caetano Veloso, Gilberto Gil, Moraes Moreira, Maria Bethânia, and Gal Costa for the presentation Bahia de Todos os Sambas, later preserved on film as a short subject. He maintained an active schedule of recordings and performances, traveling to the United States in 1988 to appear in concert and form the Bahia Band. Since 1975 he has joined the Carnival of Salvador each year aboard the Trio Elétrico Os Novos Baianos. Working with longtime songwriting partner Edil Pacheco, he initiated the archival endeavor Bahia de Todas as Músicas: do Lundu ao Axé. In 1997 he reunited with the remaining members of Os Novos Baianos to record the album Infinito Circular and to mount the accompanying show at Rio de Janeiro’s Metropolitan theater.