Vinicius Cantuária, the singer and guitarist from Brazil, has gone through many musical phases during his lifetime. He was a loud prog-rocker in his teens and early 20s, then a pop star in his 30s — writing songs for Caetano Veloso. These days, he's a Brooklynite who whispers the soft, sophisticated melodies of the genius composer Antonio Carlos Jobim.
That relationship is the focus of his most recent album, Vinicius Canta Jobim — and this podcast, in which Cantuária provides insight behind Jobim’s lesser-known "Caminhos Cruzados" and "Por Causa de Voce," songs the composer wrote in the late 1950s, before the bossa nova craze hit America. We'll hear the original, fully orchestrated versions of those songs (featuring Brazilian singers Maysa and Sylvia Telles) next to Cantuária's sparser recording (with Joyce, Bill Frisell and Ryuichi Sakamoto).
Vinicius Cantuária makes his debut at Dizzy's Club Coca Cola November 3rd through the 5th.