Jorge Aragão

Sambista raised in the traditional redoubts of Rio, Jorge Aragão has been building his career throughout the last 25 years. Ney Matogrosso, Alcione, Beth Carvalho, Emílio Santiago, Elza Soares, Sandra Sá, Zeca Pagodinho, Elizeth Cardoso, Martinho da Vila, Grupo Fundo de Quintal, and Roberto Ribeiro are some of those who have recorded his compositions. Having recorded more than 12 albums, Aragão sold 1,000,000 copies of his Jorge Aragão Ao Vivo, receiving a double-platinum record. In the '70s, a new generation of composers and musicians emerged in the Carioca suburb of Ramos, reinventing the samba de mesa (table samba) and the partido alto (a samba style in which poets sit in a circle and take turns improvising verses for hours). Since they used to gather under an ancient, enormous tamarind, they became known as the "generation born at the shadow of the Ramos tamarind." With the encouragement of established sambistas Martinho da Vila, Monarco, Nei Lopes, Beth Carvalho, Neoci (group known as Bloco do Cacique), artists like Arlindo (and the other members of the future Fundo de Quintal), Zeca Pagodinho, Marquinhos de Oswaldo Cruz, and Jorge Aragão himself were initiated into the creative process of the roda de samba. Aragão followed his path as a novice artist singing in Rio's bars and nightclubs until 1977, when his composition "Malandro" (written with Jotabê in 1967) became a success in the voice of Elza Soares. The first recording came when Aragão was a member of the first formation of the Grupo Fundo de Quintal, which emerged from the Carnival bloco (group) Cacique de Ramos. In 1982 he released his first solo album, Jorge Aragão (Ariola), followed by Verão (1983). In 1986, Aragão signed with RGE, recording Coisa de Pele, Raiz e Flor, A Seu Favor, Chorando Estrelas, Um Jorge, and Acena. Abroad, Aragão is represented by "Malandro" and "Coisinha Do Pai" (sung by Beth Carvalho). He toured U. S. twice: the first time through Miami, Orlando, and Washington, D.C. and the second performing in Washington D.C., Miami, Orlando, and New York. ~ Alvaro Neder