Elza Soares

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Elza Soares (2010)

Elza Gomes da Conceição ( June 23, 1930 in Rio de Janeiro , Brazil – January 20, 2022 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil ) was a Brazilian samba singer. Along with Clara Nunes and Beth Carvalho , she was one of the most important interpreters of samba.

Life

Elza Soares grew up poor as the daughter of a cleaner and a factory worker in Rio 's Favela Água Santa. She initially worked as a cleaning lady and laborer in a soap factory . She married at 12 and lost three children to malnutrition when she was a teenager .

In 1953 she won a singing competition by the composer Ary Barroso and was then hired as a pop singer by Joaquim Naegli's orchestra "Garam de Bailes", for which she worked until 1954. In 1955 she appeared in the musical "Jou-jou frou-frou", which was a great success.

In 1958 she went on an eight-month stay in Argentina , where she performed with singer Mercedes Batista . After her return to Rio, she was hired by the radio station Rádio Tupi and worked part-time as a pop singer. While doing so, she met the Brazilian music producer Aloysio de Oliveira , who was producing albums by popular Brazilian artists such as Vinícius de Moraes , Dorival Caymmi , Aracy de Almeida , Roberto Menescal , Ciro Monteiro and Odette Lara with the music label Elenco . Elza Soares' first album "Se acaso você chegasse" was released in 1960 on the music label Odeon and was a great success. Elza was then engaged for the prestigious show Primeiro festival nacional de bossa nova, where she appeared regularly. In 1962 her second album "A bossa negra" was released, for which the producers had the image of a " Sarah Vaughan from the favelas" in mind.

In 1962 she sang alongside Louis Armstrong at the Soccer World Cup in Santiago de Chile . There she met the Brazilian international Garrincha , whom she married in 1966. Their son Garrinchinha was born in 1963 and died in a car accident in 1986. Soares' marriage, which lasted until they divorced in 1977, was conflicted and unhappy. It was also during this period that her health and popularity began to suffer as she increasingly consumed alcohol .

During the 1960s , Elza released a number of successful albums for the Odeon record label, including O Máximo em Samba (1967), Elza Soares & Wilson das Neves (1968) and Elza, Miltinho e Samba, one from three albums series with Miltinho being the most famous.

In 1969 she moved to Rome and performed at the Teatro Sistina until 1972. In Rome she released three albums for Odeon, including songs by Jorge Ben , Toquinho and Zé Kéti .

After her return to Brazil, the LP "Elza pede passagem" was released in 1972, followed by regular appearances on music shows such as "Elza em dia de graça" and the "Brasil Export Show", as well as numerous other LPs on Odeon.

She was rediscovered as a cult figure in the 1980s , performing regularly with the group Os Titãs at a Rio nightclub . After the death of her son Garrinchinha in 1986, she spent nine years in Europe and the USA .

In 1997 she co-produced the album "Trajetória" with Chico Buarque and Aldir Blanc , for which she was honored by many as the best female samba singer. In 1999 she performed at London's Royal Albert Hall in the show "Desde Que o Samba é Samba" together with well-known Brazilian artists such as Chico Buarque, Caetano Veloso , Gilberto Gil , Gal Costa and Virgínia Rodrigues .

Elza Soares' life was the subject of the 2000 musical Crioula, for which Chico Buarque and Chico César , among others , composed songs. In her 2002 album Do cóccix até o pescoço she collaborated with contemporary Brazilian musicians such as Seu Jorge and Carlinhos Brown .

In 2005, Elza Soares starred in the documentary Brasileirinho about the music of Mika Kaurismäki 's choro .

Soares died in January 2022 at her home in Rio de Janeiro at the age of 91.

Discography (selection)

Elza Soares, 1967.
  • Se Acaso Você Chegasse (Odeon 1960)
  • A Bossa Negra (Odeon 1961 / Universal 2003)
  • Com A Bola Branca (Odeon 1966)
  • Elza Carnaval & Samba (Odeon 1969 / EMI 2003)
  • Elza Pede Passagem (Odeon 1972 / EMI 2004)
  • Do Coccix Até O Pescoço (Maianga / Tratore 2002)
  • Vivo Feliz (Tratore 2004)
  • Beba-me - Ao Vivo (Biscoito Fino 2007), CD and DVD
  • A Mulher Do Fim Do Mundo (Mais Um Discos 2015), The woman at the end of the world

literature

  • José Louzeiro: Elza Soares: Cantando para não enlouquecer. Editora Globo, Sao Paulo 1997. ISBN 85-250-2415-5

web links

Commons : Elza Soares  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

itemizations

  1. ↑ a b Michael Astor: Elza Soares, 91, Who Pushed the Boundaries of Brazilian Music, Dies. In: The New York Times . 20 January 2022, accessed 21 January 2022 (English).
  2. ↑ Brasileirinho (documentary) . Retrieved March 30, 2010.
personal data
SURNAME Soares, Elza
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Soares, Elza Gomes da Conceição (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Brazilian samba singer
BIRTH DATE June 23, 1930
PLACE OF BIRTH Rio de Janeiro , Brazil
DATE OF DEATH January 20, 2022
PLACE OF DEATH Rio de Janeiro , Brazil