Paulo Moura

Paulo Moura ranks among Brazil’s foremost guardians of the gafieira tradition—rooted in the historic ballrooms of Carioca folklore that featured elaborate, swinging dance and instrumental interplay—while also standing as one of the nation’s premier choro instrumentalists. The internationally decorated musician moves fluidly between classical and vernacular idioms, whether leading intimate groups or directing symphonic forces as both performer and arranger. His credits as conductor, orchestrator, and arranger encompass projects with Elis Regina, Fagner, Taiguara, Milton Nascimento, and Marisa Monte.

Born into a household filled with music, Moura received his first instruction from father Pedro Moura, an amateur bandleader and clarinetist who earned his living as a carpenter. Brothers José and Alberico took up the trumpet, while Valdemar chose trombone. Moura began piano lessons at nine and joined his father’s band for parties and balls at thirteen. After the family settled in Rio, he entered the National College of Music at eighteen, completing its seven-year program in two. He then refined his command of theory, harmony, and counterpoint with master teacher Paulo Silva and studied the same disciplines plus fugue with Brazilian composer, orchestrator, and conductor Guerra Peixe. Popular-music arranging came from saxophonist, composer, and arranger Moacir Santos and from saxophonist, composer, and arranger Maestro Cipó.

Moura entered Osvaldo Borba’s orchestra in 1951 and later worked with Zacarias e Sua Orquestra. His debut studio appearance came as sideman on Dalva de Oliveira’s recording of Nelson Cavaquinho’s “Palhaço.” At nineteen he appeared as soloist in Weber’s “Concertino for Clarinet and Orchestra” with the Orquestra Sinfônica Nacional. Hired by the Orquestra Ary Barroso, he toured Mexico in 1953, then joined trombonist Maciel’s ensemble and performed with the Orquestra Cipó at Rádio Tupi. In 1954 he became a regular at Rio’s celebrated Régine’s nightclub as a member of Conjunto Guio de Morais. His first solo release, a 1956 Columbia 78 featuring Paganini’s Moto Perpetuo, was followed in 1957 by the LP Paulo Moura e Sua Orquestra Para Bailes on Sinter, recorded with the gafieira orchestra he had formed that year for performances at Brasil Danças. Rádio Nacional engaged him in 1958 as orchestrator and arranger for two years; that same year he recorded Paulo Moura Interpreta Radamés Gnatalli for Continental with the Radamés Gnatalli Quartet and served as musical director for Dolores Durán, Nora Ney, Jorge Goulart, Maria Helena Raposo, and Conjunto Farroupilha. He led the Symphonic Orchestra of Moscow on a tour of the Soviet Union and additional countries. In 1959 he became first clarinetist of the Orquestra do Teatro Nacional, remaining seventeen years. The following year he toured Argentina with Severino Araújo’s orchestra and recorded the Chantecler LP Tangos e Boleros.

Moura collaborated with violão master Baden Powell in 1962, appeared at Rio’s historic Beco das Garrafas jazz and bossa nova venues, and joined Sérgio Mendes’ Conjunto Bossa-Rio as alto saxophonist for the landmark Carnegie Hall Bossa Nova Festival. He contributed saxophone to Edson Machado’s 1964 CBS album Edson Machado é Samba Novo. Subsequent Equipe releases included the 1968 Paulo Moura Hepteto, the 1969 Paulo Moura Quarteto, and the 1971 Fibra; the quartet also toured Greece that year. A 1975 session in the United States paired him with guitarist Tiago de Melo. His landmark 1976 album Confusão Urbana, Suburbana e Rural sparked a widely publicized two-month Japanese tour. The 1980s brought the Kuarup classic Mistura e Manda and the choro-inflected Dois Irmãos with violão master Raphael Rabello, which also incorporated flamenco-tinged guitar passages and bossa nova material. Several modern classical recordings were made with pianist Clara Sverner. The 1981 ecumenical ConSertão featured pianist Artur Moreira Lima, guitarist Heraldo do Monte, and singer-composer Elomar. A subsequent trio united Moura with classical violonista Turíbio Santos and Artur Moreira Lima. Solo appearances included New York’s Lincoln Center and Mexico’s Music Festival of Guadalupe; he also founded the first saxophone orchestra and performed as soloist with the Orquestra Sinfônica Brasileira and the Orquestra Sinfônica do Estado de São Paulo.

In 1985 his choro trio played the Brazil Festival at Juan-les-Pins in Antibes, France, while his gafieira orchestra inaugurated the France-Brazil Cultural Interchange at Paris’s Zenith Theatre. Moura conducted the Orquestra Sinfônica de Brasília in 1988, presenting an original work for percussion and orchestra marking the centennial of Brazilian emancipation. Guest-conducting engagements followed in Porto Alegre, Salvador, and Espírito Santo. He composed “Suíte Carioca” in 1992 for jazz rhythm section, symphony orchestra, and children’s choir and received the Best Soloist award at Moscow’s Mozart Festival. That same year he arranged and performed on clarinet and saxophones for the Os Batutas production Pixinguinha at Rio’s Teatro Carlos Gomes; the all-star choro ensemble—comprising Jorge Simas on violão, Márcio on cavaquinho, Jorginho on pandeiro, Jovi and Marçal on percussion, Zé da Velha on trombone, and Joel do Nascimento on bandolim—took its name from Pixinguinha’s pioneering group. The live recording appeared on the 1997 Velas CD Pixinguinha, which earned Brazil’s Prêmio Sharp for Best Instrumental CD and Best Instrumental Group. The sixteen tracks present classic compositions by Alfredo da Rocha Viana Júnior, Pixinguinha. Moura also received the 1996 Prêmio Sharp as Best Popular Instrumentalist, along with the Prêmio José Sarney, the Villa-Lobos Prize, the Brahma Extra Prize, and honorary citizenship in Rio de Janeiro. Four years later he won the Grammy for Best Brazilian Roots/Regional Album for Pixinguinha at the inaugural Latin Grammy Awards; the album Tempos Felizes followed in early 2001.