Biography
Zé Menezes earned recognition both as a skilled performer on violão and guitar and as a prolific composer. Throughout the 1940s and 1950s he appeared regularly on radio broadcasts alongside Radamés Gnattali, first as a member of the Quarteto Continental and later within the Quinteto Radamés. When TV Globo was established, he took on the roles of producer, arranger, and composer for its soundtracks. Music entered his life early; at age eight, conductor Arlindo Cruz engaged him to perform professionally in cinemas, and that same year he completed his debut composition, “Meus Oito Anos.” By eleven, after appearances with Cruz’s orchestra, he had become a member of the Banda Municipal de Juazeiro. Following 1938, Ceará Rádio Club engaged him as violonista, prompting him to assemble his own regional ensemble that remained active for four years. In 1943, during a visit to Fortaleza, radioman César Ladeira recruited him for Rádio Mayrink Veiga in Rio, where Menezes hosted two weekly programs and established himself as a solo artist. He performed at the Hotel Quitandinha in Petrópolis, RJ, and, with the same musicians, appeared in the ensemble Milionários do Ritmo in 1945. The following year brought engagements at the Casablanca nightclub and a contract with Rádio Globo in Rio. Two years later he moved to Rádio Nacional, remaining until 1960, and formed a duo there with violonista Garoto. Partnered steadily with Luís Bittencourt, he saw his composition “Nova Ilusão” recorded by Os Cariocas in 1948 and adopted as the group’s signature theme. His own versions of works such as the hit “De Papo pro Ar” reached listeners through additional interpreters, among them Nuno Roland with “Mais Uma Ilusão” in 1949, Os Cariocas with “Comigo é Assim” in 1950, César Ladeira and Heleninha Costa with “Não Interessa Não” in 1951, Zezé Gonzaga with “Tudo Azul” in 1951, Carmélia Alves with “Viola do Zé” in 1951, Gilberto Milfont with “Castigo,” Ernâni Filho with “Cinzas,” flutist Ari Ferreira with “Caititu,” and others. Menezes launched the group Velhinhos Transviados in 1959; the ensemble issued thirteen LPs on RCA through 1971. He also participated in the distinguished Quinteto Radamés, which toured Europe in 1960, and in 1995 he issued the CD Chorinho in Concert on the CID label.
Albums
