Milton Nascimento

Milton Nascimento
Milton Nascimento performing.
Background information
Birth name	Milton Nascimento
Also known as	Bituca
Born	October 26, 1942 (1942-10-26) (age 69)
Origin	Rio de Janeiro, Brazil[1]
Genres	Música Popular Brasileira
Occupations	Singer, songwriter, guitarist
Instruments	Guitar
Years active	1962–present
Labels	Warner Music Brazil Sony Music Brazil Philips Records EMI Music Brazil Warner Bros. Records Blue Note/EMI Records Nonesuch/Elektra Records
Associated acts	Clube da Esquina

Milton Nascimento (Portuguese pronunciation: [miwˈtõ nasiˈmẽtu]; born October 26, 1942, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) is a prominent Brazilian singer-songwriter and guitarist.

Biography

Nascimento's mother was the maid Maria Nascimento. As a baby, Milton Nascimento was adopted by his mother's former employers: the couple Josino Brito Campos, a banker employee, mathematics teacher and electronic technician; and Lília Silva Campos, a music teacher and choir singer. When he was 18 months old, Nascimento's biological mother died, and he moved with his adopted parents to the city of Três Pontas, in the state of Minas Gerais.

Nascimento was an occasional DJ on a radio station that his father once ran.^[2] He lived in the boroughs of Laranjeiras and Tijuca in Rio de Janeiro.

In the early stages of his career, Nascimento played in two samba groups: Evolussamba and Sambacana. In 1963, he moved to Belo Horizonte, where his friendship with Lô Borges led to the Clube da Esquina ("corner club") movement.^[3] Members included Beto Guedes, Toninho Horta, Wagner Tiso, and Flávio Venturini, with whom he shared compositions and melodies. One composition was "Canção do Sal", which was first interpreted by Elis Regina in 1966 and led to a television appearance with Nascimento.^[2] The collective, as well as some others, released Clube da Esquina in 1972. Several hit singles were also released.^[4]

Nascimento is famous for his falsetto and tonal range, as well for highly acclaimed songs such as "Maria, Maria", "Canção da América" ("Song from America"/"Unencounter"), "Travessia", "Bailes da Vida" and "Coração de Estudante" ("Student's Heart"). The lyrics remember the funeral of the student Edson Luís, killed by police officers in 1968. The song became the hymn for the Diretas Já social-political campaign in 1984, was played at the funeral of the late President of Brazil Tancredo Neves the next year, and was also played at Ayrton Senna's funeral.

While his reputation within Brazil was firmly established with his Clube da Esquina works, Nascimento's international breakthrough came with his appearance on jazz saxophonist Wayne Shorter's 1974 album Native Dancer. This led to widespread acclaim, and collaborations with stars such as Paul Simon, Cat Stevens, George Duke and Quincy Jones. Angelus (1994) features appearances by Pat Metheny, Ron Carter, Herbie Hancock, Jack DeJohnette, Nana Vasconcelos, Jon Anderson, James Taylor, and Peter Gabriel. Through his friendship with guitarist Warren Cuccurullo, Nascimento came to work with the pop rock band Duran Duran in 1993. Nascimento co-wrote and performed the song "Breath After Breath", featured on the band's 1993 album Duran Duran.^[4] He also performed with the band in concert when they toured in Brazil in support of that album.

In 1996, Nascimento contributed the song "Dancing" to the AIDS-Benefit Album Red Hot + Rio produced by the Red Hot Organization.

In 2004, he worked with the brazilian Heavy Metal band Angra, in the song "Late Redemption". The song is in the Temple Of Shadows album.^[5]

He is currently collaborating with Jason Mraz on the latter's upcoming album.

Discography

1967: Milton Nascimento (a.k.a. Travessia) 1968: Courage 1969: Milton Nascimento 1970: Milton 1972: Clube da Esquina 1973: Milagre dos Peixes 1974: Native Dancer (with Wayne Shorter) 1975: Minas 1976: Geraes 1976: Milton (Raça) 1978: Clube da Esquina 2 1978: Travessia (reissue of the 1967 record) 1979: Journey to Dawn 1980: Sentinela 1981: Caçador de Mim 1982: Anima 1982: Ponta de Areia 1982: Missa dos Quilombos 1983: Ao Vivo 1985: Encontros e Despedidas 1986: A Barca dos Amantes

1987: Yauaretê 1989: Miltons 1990: Cancão da America 1990: Txai 1992: Noticias do Brasil 1993: Tres Pontas 1993: Angelus 1994: O Planeta Blue Na Estrada do Sol 1996: Amigo 1997: Nascimento 1998: Tambores de Minas 1999: Crooner 2000: Nos Bailes Da Vida 2000: Gil & Milton (with Gilberto Gil) 2002: Oratorio 2003: Pieta 2003: Music for Sunday Lovers 2005: O Coronel e o Lobisomem 2007: Milagre Dos Peixes: Ao Vivo 2008: Novas Bossas 2008: Belmondo & Milton Nascimento (B-Flat recordings) 2010: ...E a Gente Sonhando Compilations 2000: Maria Maria / Ultimo Trem (Far Out Recordings, Soundtracks to 2 Brazilian ballets)[6]

References

1. ^ http://www.allmusic.com/artist/p3369
2. ^ ^{a b} Skelly, Richard. "Biography". Allmusic. All Media Guide. http://www.allmusic.com/artist/p3369/biography. Retrieved 2008-03-22. 
3. ^ Essinger, Silvio. "Clube da Esquina (Club on the Corner)". AllBrazilianMusic. CliqueMusic Editora. http://allbrazilianmusic.com/en/Styles/Styles.asp?Nu_Materia=896&Status=MATERIA. Retrieved 2008-03-22. 
4. ^ ^{a b} "Milton Nascimento". World Music Central. World Music Portal. http://worldmusiccentral.org/artists/artist_page.php?id=2356. Retrieved 2008-03-22. 
5. ^ http://metal-archives.com/release.php?id=50822
6. ^ Far Out Recordings

Sources

• Motta, Nelson (2001) (in Portuguese). Noites Tropicais. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil: Objetiva. ISBN 85-7302-292-2. 
• Dolores, Maria. (2006) (in Portuguese). Travessia: A Vida De Milton Nascimento. RCB. 
• Mei, Giancarlo (2004). Canto Latino: Origine, Evoluzione e Protagonisti della Musica Popolare del Brasile. Viterbo, Italy: Stampa Alternativa-Nuovi Equilibri. 
• McGowan, Chris; Pessanha, Ricardo (1998). The Brazilian Sound: Samba, Bossa Nova and the Popular Music of Brazil (2nd ed. ed.). Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Temple University Press. ISBN 1-56639-545-3. 

External links

• Official site
• (Portuguese) Interview with Nascimento, 1988
• Milton Nascimento: 12 Essential Performances by Ted Gioia (jazz.com)

Persondata
Name	Nascimento, Milton
Alternative names	Bituca
Short description	Singer, songwriter
Date of birth	October 26, 1942
Place of birth	Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Date of death
Place of death