Biography
Hailing from Brazil, Vinicius Cantuária works in New York as a guitarist, songwriter, vocalist, drummer, and percussionist. His solo output, marked by constant exploration, regularly fuses samba, bossa, jazz, and rock. In 1969 he started the rock band O Têrço, which eventually issued six albums, among them the 1978 release Mudança de Tempo. Session contributions with Caetano Veloso, Gal Costa, Zé Ramalho, and Erasmo Carlos preceded his self-titled solo debut in 1982; Nu Brasil came out four years later. Rio Negro (1991) and Tucuma (1996) drew attention from both jazz and rock reviewers. That same year he co-wrote material and performed on Arto Lindsay’s The Subtle Body. The 2004 album Horse & Fish, steeped in funky jazz-samba, preceded the widely praised Silva (2005), Cymbals (2007), and Samba Carioca (2010). A 2011 duo project with Bill Frisell appeared as Lágrimas Mexicanas. Vinicius Canta Antonio Carlos Jobim followed in 2015; 2021 brought Surpresa, recorded with American songwriter Jesse Harris, while 2022 saw Naus, a collaboration with MPB star Zeca Baleiro. Psychedelic Rio arrived in 2024, introducing his new trio featuring bassist Paolo Andriolo and drummer Roberto Rossi.
Born in Manaus, Amazonas, in 1951, Cantuária moved with his family to Rio de Janeiro at age eight. Guitar and percussion lessons began at ten, and by sixteen he was working professionally. He assembled O Têrço in 1969, taking the drum chair and handling vocals. Their first LP, simply titled O Têrço, surfaced in 1970 and was followed by Têrço in 1973; the latter charted and featured a horn section supplied by the Paulo Moura Hepteto on alto saxophone. The group’s biggest success remained 1978’s Mudança de Tempo, which reached Brazil’s rock Top 40. Cantuária’s final appearance with O Têrço came on the 1983 album Som Mais Puro, where he contributed as guest vocalist and guitarist.
Beyond the band, he earned much of his income as a session player, appearing on releases by Bixo Da Seda, Gal Costa, and Zé Ramalho. In 1979 he joined Caetano Veloso’s band as drummer for the classic Cinema Transcendental and also supported former bandmate Sergio Hinds on the guitarist’s debut solo album. Subsequent studio work placed him alongside Erasmo Carlos, Gal Costa, Veloso (whose touring band he joined), Lucia Turnbull, and Fernanda.
Late 1981 brought a BMG Ariola contract and a 1982 debut album on which Cantuária wrote or co-wrote all eleven tracks; Veloso supplied a guest vocal on “Chegou No Vento.” The following year he shifted direction with the polished MPB production Gávea de Manhã, employing backing chorus, horns, and synthesizers to reveal previously unheard sophistication. After switching to EMI he issued three new-wave-inflected albums: Sutis Diferenças (1984), Siga-Me (1985, again featuring Veloso on “Banda Nova”), and the slick, rock-oriented Nu Brasil (1986), which included Lulu Santos on “Quero Que Vá Tudo Pro Inferno.” Produced by Celso Fonseca, who also played multiple instruments, the sessions enlisted Leo Gandelman and Paulinho Braga. Rio Negro appeared in 1991 on the Brazilian Chorus Estudio label, with Chico Buarque guesting on the co-composed “Ludo Real.”
Cantuária emigrated to New York City in 1994. He quickly integrated into the downtown scene and began recording with others, forming a close association with fellow Brazilian-born artist Arto Lindsay, who introduced him widely. In 1995 he appeared on Ryuichiro Sakamoto’s Smoochy and on Lindsay’s The Subtle Body, co-writing four songs and playing guitar and percussion alongside Bill Frisell, Marc Ribot, Yuka Honda, Nana Vasconcelos, Cyro Baptista, and additional musicians.
Gramavision released Sol Na Cara in 1996; co-produced with Lindsay, it featured Sakamoto among others. Tucumã, issued by Verve in 1999 and co-produced with Hans Wendl and Soli (Antonio Lima), launched an informal trilogy that raised his profile in North America; the cast included Frisell, Lindsay, Vasconcelos, Joey Baron, Erik Friedlander, Michael Leonhart, and Sean Lennon. That year he also contributed to Vasconcelos’ Contaminação, Tim Maia’s Soul Tim, and Ana Torroja’s Pasajes de un Sueño.
Further studio work with David Byrne, Lindsay, Lennon, Laurie Anderson, and Angélique Kidjo complemented live appearances, leading to the 2001 Lee Townsend-produced album Vinicius, which added Jenny Scheinman, Brad Mehldau, Marc Johnson, and Veloso to many of the Tucumã musicians; Townsend and Tucker Martine handled mixing. He also played on Los Super Seven’s Canto and, in 2002, joined Marcos Valle’s band for Vento Sul.
In 2003 Cantuária performed with Frisell on The Intercontinentals and recorded Horse & Fish for Hannibal Records; Rykodisc issued it stateside in 2004 and Bar/None reissued it after Rykodisc folded. The wildly experimental set blended mutant samba, experimental MPB, jazz, funk, and rock with a sextet that included Leonhart on trumpet and synthesizer. Silva, his second Hannibal album, reunited him with Leonhart and added a string quartet, two percussionists, a keyboardist, and a bassist for a mellow bossa, folk, and jazz collection that mixed co-written originals with three English-language tracks and a cover of Antonio Carlos Jobim and Vinicius de Moraes’ “Felicidade.”
Those two albums prepared the ground for 2007’s Cymbals, widely regarded as one of his strongest statements. Dark samba, flamenco, and Latin elements merged with bossa, post-bop, and MPB performed almost entirely by American musicians—Scheinman, Ribot, Friedlander, Mehldau, Leonhart, and saxophonist David Binney—plus Brazilian percussionist Marivaldo Dos Santos. Despite the assembled talent, the album prominently displayed Cantuária’s distinctive singing. He also guested that year on Veloso’s Bicho and on recordings by Leoni and Dadi.
While maintaining a Brooklyn studio practice alongside New York gigs and tours, he released Samba Carioca on Naïve in 2010. The cast featured icon João Donato, Mehldau and Valle on pianos, Frisell, Dadi, and Cantuária on guitars, Liminha and Luis Alves on bass, flugelhornist Jessé Sado, and drummer Paulo Braga.
Naïve issued the duo album Lágrimas Mexicanas with Frisell in January 2011, earning international acclaim for its haunted melodies, spectral rhythms, improvisations, and detailed sonics that appealed to jazz, indie-rock, and blues listeners. His final Naïve release, 2013’s Indio de Apartamento, was tracked in New York and Rio with Sakamoto and Norah Jones on pianos, Frisell and Dadi on guitars, Liminha on bass, Cantuária and Mario Laginha on keys, and Jesse Harris on vocals; though sharing the spacious aesthetic of Lágrimas Mexicanas, it proved more tuneful and accessible. Also in 2013 he issued two duo projects: the digital-only El Camino with Frisell on Vantage Music, highlighting his singing, and RSVC with guitarist Ricardo Silvera.
Given his deep regard for bossa-nova origins, the 2015 album Vinicius Canta Antonio Carlos Jobim felt inevitable yet proved deeply affecting. A crack band of five guitarists—including Frisell, Fonseca, and Silvera—plus Sakamoto on piano supported duets with Joyce Moreno on “Só Dango Samba” and Melody Gardot on “Insensatez,” drawing some of his strongest reviews. After touring North America, Europe, and Brazil he recorded Surpresa with Jesse Harris; the songs were presented as duets, a new version of “Rio Negro” appeared, and Gardot sang on the co-written title track. The following year he collaborated with MPB singer-songwriter Zeca Baleiro on the poignant, elegant yet earthy Naus for Sarava Discos, which received airplay in France, Switzerland, and Norway.
Psychedelic Rio, released in 2024, introduced Cantuária’s power trio with Italians Paolo Andriolo on bass and Roberto Rossi on percussion and drums. Andriolo had first encountered the guitarist years earlier at a festival and later proposed forming a band; a year afterward he introduced Rossi. The trio rehearsed extensively before issuing a program of bossa and samba covers alongside Cantuária originals, employing a spooky, bluesy, spacious approach to twenty-first-century psych.
Born in Manaus, Amazonas, in 1951, Cantuária moved with his family to Rio de Janeiro at age eight. Guitar and percussion lessons began at ten, and by sixteen he was working professionally. He assembled O Têrço in 1969, taking the drum chair and handling vocals. Their first LP, simply titled O Têrço, surfaced in 1970 and was followed by Têrço in 1973; the latter charted and featured a horn section supplied by the Paulo Moura Hepteto on alto saxophone. The group’s biggest success remained 1978’s Mudança de Tempo, which reached Brazil’s rock Top 40. Cantuária’s final appearance with O Têrço came on the 1983 album Som Mais Puro, where he contributed as guest vocalist and guitarist.
Beyond the band, he earned much of his income as a session player, appearing on releases by Bixo Da Seda, Gal Costa, and Zé Ramalho. In 1979 he joined Caetano Veloso’s band as drummer for the classic Cinema Transcendental and also supported former bandmate Sergio Hinds on the guitarist’s debut solo album. Subsequent studio work placed him alongside Erasmo Carlos, Gal Costa, Veloso (whose touring band he joined), Lucia Turnbull, and Fernanda.
Late 1981 brought a BMG Ariola contract and a 1982 debut album on which Cantuária wrote or co-wrote all eleven tracks; Veloso supplied a guest vocal on “Chegou No Vento.” The following year he shifted direction with the polished MPB production Gávea de Manhã, employing backing chorus, horns, and synthesizers to reveal previously unheard sophistication. After switching to EMI he issued three new-wave-inflected albums: Sutis Diferenças (1984), Siga-Me (1985, again featuring Veloso on “Banda Nova”), and the slick, rock-oriented Nu Brasil (1986), which included Lulu Santos on “Quero Que Vá Tudo Pro Inferno.” Produced by Celso Fonseca, who also played multiple instruments, the sessions enlisted Leo Gandelman and Paulinho Braga. Rio Negro appeared in 1991 on the Brazilian Chorus Estudio label, with Chico Buarque guesting on the co-composed “Ludo Real.”
Cantuária emigrated to New York City in 1994. He quickly integrated into the downtown scene and began recording with others, forming a close association with fellow Brazilian-born artist Arto Lindsay, who introduced him widely. In 1995 he appeared on Ryuichiro Sakamoto’s Smoochy and on Lindsay’s The Subtle Body, co-writing four songs and playing guitar and percussion alongside Bill Frisell, Marc Ribot, Yuka Honda, Nana Vasconcelos, Cyro Baptista, and additional musicians.
Gramavision released Sol Na Cara in 1996; co-produced with Lindsay, it featured Sakamoto among others. Tucumã, issued by Verve in 1999 and co-produced with Hans Wendl and Soli (Antonio Lima), launched an informal trilogy that raised his profile in North America; the cast included Frisell, Lindsay, Vasconcelos, Joey Baron, Erik Friedlander, Michael Leonhart, and Sean Lennon. That year he also contributed to Vasconcelos’ Contaminação, Tim Maia’s Soul Tim, and Ana Torroja’s Pasajes de un Sueño.
Further studio work with David Byrne, Lindsay, Lennon, Laurie Anderson, and Angélique Kidjo complemented live appearances, leading to the 2001 Lee Townsend-produced album Vinicius, which added Jenny Scheinman, Brad Mehldau, Marc Johnson, and Veloso to many of the Tucumã musicians; Townsend and Tucker Martine handled mixing. He also played on Los Super Seven’s Canto and, in 2002, joined Marcos Valle’s band for Vento Sul.
In 2003 Cantuária performed with Frisell on The Intercontinentals and recorded Horse & Fish for Hannibal Records; Rykodisc issued it stateside in 2004 and Bar/None reissued it after Rykodisc folded. The wildly experimental set blended mutant samba, experimental MPB, jazz, funk, and rock with a sextet that included Leonhart on trumpet and synthesizer. Silva, his second Hannibal album, reunited him with Leonhart and added a string quartet, two percussionists, a keyboardist, and a bassist for a mellow bossa, folk, and jazz collection that mixed co-written originals with three English-language tracks and a cover of Antonio Carlos Jobim and Vinicius de Moraes’ “Felicidade.”
Those two albums prepared the ground for 2007’s Cymbals, widely regarded as one of his strongest statements. Dark samba, flamenco, and Latin elements merged with bossa, post-bop, and MPB performed almost entirely by American musicians—Scheinman, Ribot, Friedlander, Mehldau, Leonhart, and saxophonist David Binney—plus Brazilian percussionist Marivaldo Dos Santos. Despite the assembled talent, the album prominently displayed Cantuária’s distinctive singing. He also guested that year on Veloso’s Bicho and on recordings by Leoni and Dadi.
While maintaining a Brooklyn studio practice alongside New York gigs and tours, he released Samba Carioca on Naïve in 2010. The cast featured icon João Donato, Mehldau and Valle on pianos, Frisell, Dadi, and Cantuária on guitars, Liminha and Luis Alves on bass, flugelhornist Jessé Sado, and drummer Paulo Braga.
Naïve issued the duo album Lágrimas Mexicanas with Frisell in January 2011, earning international acclaim for its haunted melodies, spectral rhythms, improvisations, and detailed sonics that appealed to jazz, indie-rock, and blues listeners. His final Naïve release, 2013’s Indio de Apartamento, was tracked in New York and Rio with Sakamoto and Norah Jones on pianos, Frisell and Dadi on guitars, Liminha on bass, Cantuária and Mario Laginha on keys, and Jesse Harris on vocals; though sharing the spacious aesthetic of Lágrimas Mexicanas, it proved more tuneful and accessible. Also in 2013 he issued two duo projects: the digital-only El Camino with Frisell on Vantage Music, highlighting his singing, and RSVC with guitarist Ricardo Silvera.
Given his deep regard for bossa-nova origins, the 2015 album Vinicius Canta Antonio Carlos Jobim felt inevitable yet proved deeply affecting. A crack band of five guitarists—including Frisell, Fonseca, and Silvera—plus Sakamoto on piano supported duets with Joyce Moreno on “Só Dango Samba” and Melody Gardot on “Insensatez,” drawing some of his strongest reviews. After touring North America, Europe, and Brazil he recorded Surpresa with Jesse Harris; the songs were presented as duets, a new version of “Rio Negro” appeared, and Gardot sang on the co-written title track. The following year he collaborated with MPB singer-songwriter Zeca Baleiro on the poignant, elegant yet earthy Naus for Sarava Discos, which received airplay in France, Switzerland, and Norway.
Psychedelic Rio, released in 2024, introduced Cantuária’s power trio with Italians Paolo Andriolo on bass and Roberto Rossi on percussion and drums. Andriolo had first encountered the guitarist years earlier at a festival and later proposed forming a band; a year afterward he introduced Rossi. The trio rehearsed extensively before issuing a program of bossa and samba covers alongside Cantuária originals, employing a spooky, bluesy, spacious approach to twenty-first-century psych.
Albums
