Seu Jorge

Singer Seu Jorge ignited the resurgence of Brazilian samba during the first years of the new millennium, carrying his sound well outside South America through prominent appearances in the globally celebrated pictures City of God and The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou. Jorge Mario da Silva entered the world on June 8, 1970, and grew up amid the favelas of Rio de Janeiro, taking whatever work he could find to get by. During the obligatory year of military duty he also performed on cornet in an army ensemble. In 1991 Rio police killed his brother, who was sixteen at the time. At the service Jorge encountered Gabriel Moura, the nephew of saxophonist Paolo Maura, who introduced him to fellow musicians hoping to start a group. Over the following three years he taught himself guitar, and in 1993 the Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro–backed theatrical collective Tuerj brought him aboard as both actor and musician. He took part in roughly two dozen Tuerj shows before departing in 1996 to front the major-label Brazilian pop band Farofa Carioca, whose modest sales nonetheless foreshadowed samba’s wider commercial comeback.

Adopting the stage name Seu Jorge—an abbreviation of the traditional Brazilian honorific “senhor”—his rich baritone and magnetic presence quickly drew notice, prompting him to exit Farofa Carioca in 1999 and launch a solo career. Working with Beastie Boys producer Mario Caldato he delivered the breakthrough release Samba Esporte Fino, which earned both strong sales and critical praise. Two years later director Fernando Meirelles cast him as Knockout Ned in the Academy Award-nominated City of God. In 2004 he appeared alongside Wes Anderson’s ensemble in The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, portraying oceanography-team member Pelé Dos Santos, who performed Portuguese-language David Bowie covers. The film role brought fresh listeners to Jorge’s music and boosted the worldwide reach of his second solo album, the widely admired Cru, issued the same year. Late 2005 saw the arrival of The Life Aquatic Studio Sessions, which gathered the fourteen tracks he had recorded for the movie. Naïve Records issued América Brasil: O Disco in 2008, followed by Seu Jorge and Almaz in 2010.