Vander Lee

Following years spent performing at local bars and entering various festivals, Lee earned recognition at the 1989 Avaré Festival in São Paulo. His 1991 composition “Atriz,” created with Cláudio Campos, found its way onto a recording by Alarme Falso. Three years after that, he received another honor at the Festival Canta Minas, backed by TV Globo of Minas Gerais, while Gilvan Miguez added “Hey Crioulo” and “Pra Te Embalar” to his own repertoire. Lee’s debut solo effort, Vanderly, appeared in 1997.

The second album, No Balanço do Balaio, arrived in 2000 and gained traction through the track “Românticos.” During this period Lee welcomed Luís Melodia and Milton Nascimento as guests on his stages and was chosen as one of eight performers to conclude the Novo Canto showcase at Canecão. Rita Ribeiro and additional interpreters committed several of his songs to disc, among them “Contra o Tempo.” At Elza Soares’s invitation—after she had already presented “Subindo a Ladeira” in her own concerts—Lee joined her for a 2000 itinerary that took them through Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, Salvador, and Belo Horizonte.