Roberto Menescal

Roberto Menescal ranks among the most prominent and prolific composer-guitarists in Brazilian jazz since the mid-1960s, having penned bossa nova standards such as "O Barquinho," "Ah, Se Eu Pudesse," "Errinho à Tôa," "Nós e o Mar," "Rio," "Você," and "Vagamente." His 1965 album The Boy from Ipanema Beach highlighted his interpretive approach to bossa repertoire by Tom Jobim and Vinicius de Moraes, notably on "Desafinado," "Girl from Ipanema," and "Samba Verao." Throughout the rest of the decade he served as arranger and producer at PolyGram, overseeing sessions for the tropicalistas Maria Bethânia, Gal Costa, Gilberto Gil, Jorge Ben Jor, and Caetano Veloso. Following the 1985 success Um Cantinho, Um Violão, he launched his independent imprint Albatroz during the mid-1990s and joined vocalist Wanda Sá for four albums, among them Swingueira. Entering the new millennium he appeared as featured guest with his son Márcio Menescal’s trio Bossacucanova on the Six Degrees release Brasilidade, which earned a Latin Grammy nomination; apart from the 2000 solo outing Bossa Evergreen, he maintained an active schedule as sideman alongside Sá, Marcos Valle, Veloso, and João Donato over the ensuing fifteen years. In 2020 he received co-billing once more with Bossacucanova on Bossa Got the Blues.

Menescal launched his professional path in 1957, serving as guitarist in Sylvia Telles’ touring ensemble across Brazil. The following year he established a guitar academy in Copacabana alongside Carlos Lyra, counting Nara Leão and her sister Danuza Leão among the students; he simultaneously assembled Conjunto Roberto Menescal with Luís Carlos Vinhas, João Mário, Henrique, and Bebeto, one of bossa nova’s earliest instrumental ensembles. The group backed Dorival Caymmi, Vinícius de Moraes, Billy Blanco, Maysa, and Telles. Also in 1958 Menescal joined Telles, Carlos Lyra, and fellow musicians for a program at Rio’s Clube Hebraica, where the club secretary inadvertently employed the phrase “bossa nova” in promotional material for the first time. He took part in the 1959 recording Garotos da Bossa Nova and performed at the I Festival de Samba Session held at the Teatro de Arena within the School of Architecture at the State University of Rio de Janeiro. These informal settings proved crucial for disseminating bossa nova among middle-class university audiences, and Menescal played a central role in organizing similar events throughout 1959, 1960, and 1961. His initial composition to reach disc, “Jura de Pombo” (co-written with Ronaldo Bôscoli), was cut by Alaíde Costa in 1959; the following year the bossa nova classic “O Barquinho,” again with Bôscoli, appeared simultaneously in versions by Maysa, Perry Ribeiro, and Paulinho Nogueira. In 1962 he traveled with Maysa through Argentina and, together with Eumir Deodato’s ensemble, appeared on Marlene’s TV Rio program, securing a two-year contract for his own group to accompany artists at the station. That November he joined Tom Jobim, Carlos Lyra, and others at the landmark Bossa Nova Festival at New York’s Carnegie Hall, delivering “O Barquinho” in one of his rare vocal appearances. Between 1964 and 1968 he worked as an arranger; invited by André Midani he began independent production duties at PolyGram. In 1968 he supported Elis Regina at MIDEM in Cannes and on her ensuing European tour before assuming an A&R post at the label. By then recognized as a leading producer—having collaborated with Caetano Veloso, Gilberto Gil, Jorge Ben Jor, Gal Costa, and Maria Bethânia—and as an in-demand session guitarist for Lúcio Alves, Maysa, Claudette Soares, Nara Leão, Jair Rodrigues, and Elis Regina, he placed several original pieces in the soundtracks of popular telenovelas and composed for films including Cacá Diegues’ Bye Bye Brasil and Joana Francesa as well as Hugo Carvana’s Vai Trabalhar Vagabundo. Menescal backed Nara Leão on the 1985 LP Um Cantinho, Um Violão; the next year he left his A&R position to concentrate on solo projects and began participating in jazz ventures that included work with Joe Henderson. In 2001 he appeared with Wanda Sá, Danilo Caymmi, and Marcos Valle at the Fare Festival in Pavia, Italy. He continues to operate the Albatroz label, which has issued recordings by Danilo Caymmi, Emílio Santiago, and additional artists. In 2020 Menescal again collaborated with Márcio’s Bossacucanova on Bossa Got the Blues, issued by Six Degrees.