Sivuca

Noted for his skills as a composer, arranger, and accordionist, Sivuca built a thriving international solo path once he had shared stages with Baden Powell, Toots Thielemans, Chiquinho do Acordeon, Radamés Gnattali, Rosinha de Valença, Waldir Azevedo, Harry Belafonte, and Miriam Makeba, among numerous others. In his writing, Sivuca created the enduring pieces “Adeus, Maria Fulô” (with Humberto Teixeira) and “João e Maria” (with Chico Buarque), while scoring successes through “Feira de Mangaio” (with his wife Glorinha Gadelha), which Clara Nunes later cut, and “No Tempo dos Quintais” (with Paulo Tapajós). His frequent collaborators included Paulinho Tapajós, Paulo César Pinheiro, Luís Bandeira, Armandinho, Hermeto Pascoal, and Chiquinho do Acordeon.

He first took up the accordion at age nine and soon earned a living performing at fairs and parties. Six years afterward he relocated to Recife, Pernambuco, making his broadcast debut on Rádio Guararapes. The station Rádio Clube de Pernambuco next employed him for three years, during which he appeared both alone and within its regional ensemble, before shifting to Rádio Jornal do Comércio in 1948. There he absorbed music theory from fellow orchestra members and, later, from the newly installed conductor Guerra-Peixe. Carmélia Alves encountered him while touring Recife in 1949, engaged him, and brought him to São Paulo, where he supported her on a recording that year. In São Paulo he secured a post at Rádio Record and, in 1951, cut his debut album featuring the choros “Tico-Tico no Fubá” (Zequinha de Abreu) and “Carioquinha no Flamengo” (Waldir Azevedo/Bonfiglio de Oliveira).

The international surge of baião during the 1950s, together with rising demand for skilled Northeastern players and instrumentalists, propelled Sivuca’s work forward as timing and location aligned perfectly. Still in 1951 he backed Carmélia Alves on the medley “No Mundo do Baião” and issued his second solo album containing the frevo “Frevo dos Vassourinhas Número 1” (Matias da Rocha) and the baião “Sivuca no Baião” (Luíz Gonzaga/Humberto Teixeira). The following year he began documenting original compositions with the choros “Entardecendo” and “Choro Baixo” (with Luís Bandeira), then registered his baião “Feijoada” the year after that. Concurrently he gave solo recitals in São Paulo accompanied by his own regional group as well as orchestras directed by Hervê Cordovil and Gabriel Migliori, all while continuing broadcasts on Recife’s Rádio Jornal do Comércio. In 1955 the national network Diários Associados contracted him for Rádio and TV Tupi in Rio de Janeiro, a position he held for four years.

As part of Os Brasileiros he joined one of the Brazilian government’s Music Caravans and toured Europe in 1958. Under conductor Guio de Morais the ensemble performed a three-month engagement alongside Trio Iraquitã, Abel Ferreira, Pernambuco, and Dimas. Dismissed by Tupi in 1959 after taking part in a salary strike, Sivuca departed for Europe, spending three months with the group Brasília Ritmos, which included Waldir Azevedo. A subsequent contract with a Portuguese club led him to settle in Paris, where he remained until 1964 and recorded the 1962 Barclay LP Rendez-Vous a Rio.

He returned to Recife in 1964 and that same year traveled to the United States with Carmen Costa. Miriam Makeba’s husband and manager invited him to join her ensemble as guitarist. He held that role for four years, eventually directing the group and touring Africa, Europe, Asia, and the Americas. Back in New York in 1969, Sivuca composed and performed for the musical Joy, which premiered in 1970. After appearances in San Francisco and Chicago, both live and on television, Harry Belafonte recruited him in 1971. Sivuca remained with Belafonte until 1975, serving as guitarist, keyboardist, and arranger while also releasing solo albums in the United States, among them the well-received Live at the Village Gate, which featured his reading of “Adeus Maria Fulô.”

Sivuca resettled in Brazil in 1977 and joined Rosinha de Valença for a concert at Rio de Janeiro’s Teatro João Caetano that was issued as the LP Sivuca e Rosinha de Valença. The following year “João e Maria” became another hit in the version recorded by Chico Buarque and Miúcha. Six years later he produced the notable album Sivuca e Chiquinho with Chiquinho do Acordeon and Radamés Gnattali. In the ensuing year he cut three albums in Sweden, of which Chiko’s Bar/Sivuca e Toots Thielemans stands out. Although his activity moderated during the 1980s and 1990s, he still issued the important 1987 collaboration Sanfona e Realejo with Rildo Hora and appeared with Baden Powell in Paris in 1997.