Biography
Despite achieving popularity through performances at landmark festivals, composer Sidney Miller never secured substantial recording-industry backing, even though major artists captured numerous gems from his catalog. Nara Leão, MPB-4, Quarteto em Cy, Caetano Veloso, Alaíde Costa, and Gal Costa all documented his songs.
Largely self-taught, Miller earned fourth place at TV Excelsior’s I FMPB in São Paulo in 1965 when Ciro Monteiro introduced the samba “Queixa,” co-written with Zé Keti and Paulo Tiago. The following year Nara Leão became an early champion by featuring the still-emerging sambista on Nara Pede Passagem alongside Paulinho da Viola, Chico Buarque, and Jards Macalé. Caetano Veloso and Gal Costa’s debut album, Domingo, also included Miller’s “Maria Joana.”
During the same period Miller attended the pivotal gathering at Sérgio Ricardo’s residence where Gil and Caetano sought to recruit him, along with Edu Lobo, Dori Caymmi, Chico Buarque, Francis Hime, Paulinho da Viola, Torquato Neto, and Capinam, into the Tropicalia circle. In 1967 his composition “A Estrada e o Violeiro” received the Best Lyrics prize at TV Record’s III FMPB, performed by Nara Leão and Miller himself. That same year Elenco issued his first LP, Sidney Miller, which contained “A Estrada e o Violeiro” (with Nara Leão), “Maria Joana,” “Marré-de-Cy,” “Argumento,” “O Circo,” “Menina da Agulha,” and “Pede Passagem,” among other tracks.
Miller supplied additional songs for the play Arena conta Tiradentes, staged by Augusto Boal and Gianfrancesco Guarnieri, whose score also drew contributions from Caetano Veloso and Gilberto Gil. Nara Leão recorded selections from that material—“Maria Joana,” “O Circo,” and “Passa Passa Gavião”—for Cia. Brasileira de Discos in 1967. In 1968 he produced João de Barros’s show Yes, nós Temos Braguinha and Marlene’s comeback production Carnavália; he also took first prize at the Festival de Juiz de Fora MG with “Sem Assunto,” later recorded by Cybele and Cylene, two future members of Quarteto em Cy. Later that year Elenco released his second album, Brasil, do Guarani ao Guaraná, a work steeped in Tropicalia aesthetics that Miller would later disavow.
By 1969 Miller had composed the score for Paulo Tiago’s film Senhores da Terra, appeared in the production Alice no País do Divino Maravilhoso, produced Nara Leão’s Philips album Coisas Desse Mundo, and mounted her Sucata nightclub presentation in Rio. In 1971 he wrote the soundtrack for Haroldo Marinho Barbosa’s Vida de Artista; the next year he scored Orlando Miranda’s play Por Mares Nunca Dantes Navegados. Further commissions followed in 1973 for Barbosa’s Ovelha Negra and Joaquim Manuel de Macedo’s A Torre em Concurso. Som Livre issued the 1974 LP Línguas de Fogo, featuring “Cicatrizes,” “Um dia Qualquer,” “Línguas de Fogo,” “Dos Anjos,” “Alô,” and “Pala-Palavra.”
Funarte later released a posthumous collection titled Sidney Miller that revived “Maria Joana,” “Nós os Foliões,” “O Circo,” “Menina da Agulha” (sung by Zé Luiz and Alaíde Costa), “Paisagem Sobre Valsa” (Alaíde Costa), “Pois é, Prá Quê?” (Zezé Gonzaga, Alaíde Costa, and Zé Luiz), and “A Estrada e o Violeiro” (Miller with Nara Leão). Paulinho da Viola placed “Nós, os Foliões” on his 1982 album A Toda Hora Rola uma História; MPB-4 recorded both “Pois é, pra Quê?” and “Meu Violão”; and Quarteto em Cy joined MPB-4 for a version of “A Estrada e o Violeiro.” Sidney Miller’s name and one of his songs are embedded in the sidewalk of Vila Isabel, Rio, beside those honoring Noel Rosa.
Largely self-taught, Miller earned fourth place at TV Excelsior’s I FMPB in São Paulo in 1965 when Ciro Monteiro introduced the samba “Queixa,” co-written with Zé Keti and Paulo Tiago. The following year Nara Leão became an early champion by featuring the still-emerging sambista on Nara Pede Passagem alongside Paulinho da Viola, Chico Buarque, and Jards Macalé. Caetano Veloso and Gal Costa’s debut album, Domingo, also included Miller’s “Maria Joana.”
During the same period Miller attended the pivotal gathering at Sérgio Ricardo’s residence where Gil and Caetano sought to recruit him, along with Edu Lobo, Dori Caymmi, Chico Buarque, Francis Hime, Paulinho da Viola, Torquato Neto, and Capinam, into the Tropicalia circle. In 1967 his composition “A Estrada e o Violeiro” received the Best Lyrics prize at TV Record’s III FMPB, performed by Nara Leão and Miller himself. That same year Elenco issued his first LP, Sidney Miller, which contained “A Estrada e o Violeiro” (with Nara Leão), “Maria Joana,” “Marré-de-Cy,” “Argumento,” “O Circo,” “Menina da Agulha,” and “Pede Passagem,” among other tracks.
Miller supplied additional songs for the play Arena conta Tiradentes, staged by Augusto Boal and Gianfrancesco Guarnieri, whose score also drew contributions from Caetano Veloso and Gilberto Gil. Nara Leão recorded selections from that material—“Maria Joana,” “O Circo,” and “Passa Passa Gavião”—for Cia. Brasileira de Discos in 1967. In 1968 he produced João de Barros’s show Yes, nós Temos Braguinha and Marlene’s comeback production Carnavália; he also took first prize at the Festival de Juiz de Fora MG with “Sem Assunto,” later recorded by Cybele and Cylene, two future members of Quarteto em Cy. Later that year Elenco released his second album, Brasil, do Guarani ao Guaraná, a work steeped in Tropicalia aesthetics that Miller would later disavow.
By 1969 Miller had composed the score for Paulo Tiago’s film Senhores da Terra, appeared in the production Alice no País do Divino Maravilhoso, produced Nara Leão’s Philips album Coisas Desse Mundo, and mounted her Sucata nightclub presentation in Rio. In 1971 he wrote the soundtrack for Haroldo Marinho Barbosa’s Vida de Artista; the next year he scored Orlando Miranda’s play Por Mares Nunca Dantes Navegados. Further commissions followed in 1973 for Barbosa’s Ovelha Negra and Joaquim Manuel de Macedo’s A Torre em Concurso. Som Livre issued the 1974 LP Línguas de Fogo, featuring “Cicatrizes,” “Um dia Qualquer,” “Línguas de Fogo,” “Dos Anjos,” “Alô,” and “Pala-Palavra.”
Funarte later released a posthumous collection titled Sidney Miller that revived “Maria Joana,” “Nós os Foliões,” “O Circo,” “Menina da Agulha” (sung by Zé Luiz and Alaíde Costa), “Paisagem Sobre Valsa” (Alaíde Costa), “Pois é, Prá Quê?” (Zezé Gonzaga, Alaíde Costa, and Zé Luiz), and “A Estrada e o Violeiro” (Miller with Nara Leão). Paulinho da Viola placed “Nós, os Foliões” on his 1982 album A Toda Hora Rola uma História; MPB-4 recorded both “Pois é, pra Quê?” and “Meu Violão”; and Quarteto em Cy joined MPB-4 for a version of “A Estrada e o Violeiro.” Sidney Miller’s name and one of his songs are embedded in the sidewalk of Vila Isabel, Rio, beside those honoring Noel Rosa.
Albums
