Biography
Sérgio Dias joined forces with his brother Arnaldo to leave a lasting stamp on Brazilian popular music as members of the groundbreaking band Os Mutantes. Once the group disbanded, he launched a thriving solo trajectory that yielded five albums released abroad along with onstage appearances alongside Leon Shankar, John McLaughlin, Gil Evans, Phil Manzanera, and additional collaborators.
Son of the concerto pianist Clarisse Leite Dias Baptista—the first woman anywhere to compose a concert for piano and orchestra—Dias picked up the guitar at a young age and chose to leave formal schooling at thirteen in order to focus exclusively on music. He later joined his brothers Arnaldo Dias Baptista and Cláudio César Dias Baptista plus several friends in exploring rock & roll.
Bass duties began in the Wooden Faces, a group whose name shifted repeatedly—first to O'seis, then O Konjunto—before settling on Os Mutantes in 1966, the year the ensemble became Brazil’s foremost rock band. The original trio consisted of Arnaldo Baptista on bass and vocals, Rita Lee handling vocals, percussion, and visual conception, and the fifteen-year-old Dias on guitar and vocals. Brother Cláudio César managed sound engineering as an electronics innovator who created original effects drawn solely from listening to records, never having seen the devices themselves, and also built the band’s own sound systems. Os Mutantes proved central to the Tropicalia movement, shaping its character through festival performances, several of them supporting Gilberto Gil, and through recordings with various Tropicalia artists including Gil and Caetano Veloso.
Following the breakup of Os Mutantes, Yes producer Eddie Offord invited Dias to make his first international album in 1980. He relocated to New York at that time and, over the next decade, performed with Indian violinist Leon Shankar, John McLaughlin, Jeremy Steig, TM Steves, Gil Evans, and others. As part of Steps of the Imagination with Airto Moreira and Flora Purim, he completed a three-year U.S. tour before returning to New York to record East Side Strut, co-produced by Eumir Deodato. In 1990 he produced and recorded with English guitarist Phil Manzanera for his second international solo album, Mato Grosso, issued on Black Sun Records. The following year brought the release of the third album, Mind Over Matter, which appeared internationally via Expression Records and in Brazil on Natasha Records with the bonus track “Cidadão da Terra,” a remake of the original from the 1974 Os Mutantes album Tudo Foi Feito Pelo Sol. Recognition came in 1993 when the Carioca newspaper O Globo named him the best Brazilian guitarist. October 1994 included a South African tour and a Christmas special on South African television. Recording of Song of the Leopard for Celestial Harmonies began during that period and was completed at his home studio in Brazil, where he played nearly every instrument and handled production and mixing; the album reached thirty countries in 1997. In 1996 he wrote the song “White Cloud” for the German album Global Brazilians on Metalimbo Records. A live jazz album was recorded at the Carioca nightclub Jazzmania in 1997. Mind Over Matter followed three years later.
Son of the concerto pianist Clarisse Leite Dias Baptista—the first woman anywhere to compose a concert for piano and orchestra—Dias picked up the guitar at a young age and chose to leave formal schooling at thirteen in order to focus exclusively on music. He later joined his brothers Arnaldo Dias Baptista and Cláudio César Dias Baptista plus several friends in exploring rock & roll.
Bass duties began in the Wooden Faces, a group whose name shifted repeatedly—first to O'seis, then O Konjunto—before settling on Os Mutantes in 1966, the year the ensemble became Brazil’s foremost rock band. The original trio consisted of Arnaldo Baptista on bass and vocals, Rita Lee handling vocals, percussion, and visual conception, and the fifteen-year-old Dias on guitar and vocals. Brother Cláudio César managed sound engineering as an electronics innovator who created original effects drawn solely from listening to records, never having seen the devices themselves, and also built the band’s own sound systems. Os Mutantes proved central to the Tropicalia movement, shaping its character through festival performances, several of them supporting Gilberto Gil, and through recordings with various Tropicalia artists including Gil and Caetano Veloso.
Following the breakup of Os Mutantes, Yes producer Eddie Offord invited Dias to make his first international album in 1980. He relocated to New York at that time and, over the next decade, performed with Indian violinist Leon Shankar, John McLaughlin, Jeremy Steig, TM Steves, Gil Evans, and others. As part of Steps of the Imagination with Airto Moreira and Flora Purim, he completed a three-year U.S. tour before returning to New York to record East Side Strut, co-produced by Eumir Deodato. In 1990 he produced and recorded with English guitarist Phil Manzanera for his second international solo album, Mato Grosso, issued on Black Sun Records. The following year brought the release of the third album, Mind Over Matter, which appeared internationally via Expression Records and in Brazil on Natasha Records with the bonus track “Cidadão da Terra,” a remake of the original from the 1974 Os Mutantes album Tudo Foi Feito Pelo Sol. Recognition came in 1993 when the Carioca newspaper O Globo named him the best Brazilian guitarist. October 1994 included a South African tour and a Christmas special on South African television. Recording of Song of the Leopard for Celestial Harmonies began during that period and was completed at his home studio in Brazil, where he played nearly every instrument and handled production and mixing; the album reached thirty countries in 1997. In 1996 he wrote the song “White Cloud” for the German album Global Brazilians on Metalimbo Records. A live jazz album was recorded at the Carioca nightclub Jazzmania in 1997. Mind Over Matter followed three years later.
Albums