Elza Soares

Elza Soares
File:Elza Soares.jpg Elza Soares in 2010
Background information
Born	(1937-06-23) June 23, 1937 Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Genres	Samba, MPB, bossa nova
Instruments	Vocals
Years active	1950s–present

Elza Soares (born June 23, 1937) is a Brazilian samba singer. She was married to Brazilian football player Garrincha.

Born and raised in a favela in Rio de Janeiro, Soares took part in a singing contest presented by the renowned Brazilian musician Ary Barroso, and received the highest marks. In the late 1950s, Soares spent one year touring Argentina with Mercedes Batista. Soares became popular with her first single "Se Acaso Você Chegasse", on which she introduced the scat à la Louis Armstrong, adding a bit of jazz to samba. She moved to São Paulo, where she performed at theaters and night clubs. Her husky voice became her trademark. After finishing her second album, A Bossa Negra, Elza went to Chile to represent Brazil in the 1962 Football World Cup. Her outgoing and over-the-edge style fascinated audiences in Brazil and abroad.

In the 1970s, she toured the U.S. and Europe. She has been singing for more than 40 years. In 2000, she was awarded "Best Singer of the Millennium" by the BBC in London, where she performed in a concert with Gal Costa, Chico Buarque, Gilberto Gil, Caetano Veloso and Virgínia Rodrigues. That same year, she played a series of avant-garde concerts directed by José Miguel Wisnik in Rio de Janeiro.

Soares scored a number of charts hits in Brazil throughout her career; some of the bigger hits include: "Se Acaso Você Chegasse" (1960), "Boato" (1961), "Cadeira Vazia" (1961), "Só Danço Samba" (1963), "Mulata Assanhada" (1965) and "Aquarela Brasileira" (1974).

A number of Soares's albums have also been re-released on CD in remastered editions: 1961's A Bossa Negra (containing her major hit of that year, "Boato") and 1972's big band backed Elza Pede Passagem (produced by Dom Salvador) being two of her most acclaimed releases. Elza Pede Passagem produced no major hit singles of the size of previous releases when originally released in Brazil; nevertheless, it is now considered a classic and representative of the "samba-soul" sound of the early 70s.

In 2002, her Do Cóccix Até O Pescoço album release earned her a Grammy nomination. The album received outstanding reviews in the music press and featured a who's who of Brazilian artists collaborating with her; Caetano Veloso, Chico Buarque, Carlinhos Brown and Jorge Ben Jor to name just a few. The release kickstarted a number of successful tour dates around the world. Two singles from the album were also promoted to Brazilian radio, "A Cigarra" and "Bambino", both were backed by promotional videos.

In 2004, Soares released her Vivo Feliz album to great acclaim. It contained the single, "Rio de Janeiro", a homage to her city of birth. While not as successful in sales as her previous release, the album carried on the theme of mixing samba and bossa with modern electronic music and effects. The album featured collaborations with groundbreaking artists such as Nando Reis, Fred 04 (former leader of mangue beat band Mundo Livre S/A) and Zé Keti.

More recently, Soares teamed up with Jair Rodrigues and a number of contemporary samba artists such as Seu Jorge for the old school flavoured Sambistas multi artist album which was released in 2009.

Discography

Se Acaso Você Chegasse (Odeon 1960)

Tenha Pena de Mim (Odeon 1960)

Eu e o rio (Odeon 1961)

Beija-me (Odeon 1961)

Mulata Assanhada (Odeon 1961)

A Bossa Negra (Odeon 1961 / Universal 2003)

Sambossa (Odeon 1963)

Na Roda do Samba (Odeon 1964)

Um Show de Beleza (Odeon 1965)

O Samba Brasileiro (Odeon 1965)

Verão do Meu Rio (Odeon 1965)

O Neguinho e a Senhorita (Odeon 1965)

Com A Bola Branca (Odeon 1966)

Palmas no portão (Odeon 1967)

O Mundo Encantado de Monteiro Lobato (Odeon 1967)

Negro Telefone (Odeon 1967)

Com Que Roupa (Odeon 1967)

Elza, Miltinho e Samba (Odeon 1967)

O Máximo em Samba (Odeon 1967)

Balanço Zona Sul (Odeon 1968)

Diálogo de Crioulos (Odeon 1968)

Mestre-Sala (Odeon 1968)

Capoeira (Odeon 1968)

Onde Está Meu Samba (Odeon 1968)

Elza, Miltinho e Samba Vol.2 (Odeon 1968)

Elza Soares e Wilson das Neves (Odeon 1968)

Boggie Woogie na Favela (Odeon 1969)

Heróis da Liberdade (Odeon 1969)

Juntinho de Novo (Odeon 1969)

Elza Carnaval & Samba (Odeon 1969)

Elza, Miltinho e Samba Vol.3 (Odeon 1969)

Samba & Mais Sambas (Odeon 1969)

Sambas e Mais Sambas (Odeon 1970)

Se Acaso Você Chegasse (Odeon 1971)

Sangue, Suor e Raça (Odeon 1972)

Grade do Amor (Odeon 1972)

Elza Pede Passagem (Odeon 1972 / EMI 2004)

Swing Negrão Odeon 1972)

Maria Vai com as Outras (Odeon 1972)

Lendas do Abaeté (Odeon 1973)

Aquarela Brasileira (Odeon 1973)

Salve a Mocidade (Tapecar 1974)

Quem é bom já nasce feito (Tapecar 1974)

Samba, Minha Raiz (Tapecar 1974)

Com Que Roupa (Odeon 1974)

Pilão+Raça=Elza (Odeon 1977)

Elza Negra, Negra Elza (CBS 1980)

Voltei (1988)

Carioca da Gema (1999)

Do Cóccix Até O Pescoço (Maianga / Tratore 2002)

Vivo Feliz (Tratore 2004)

Beba-me - Ao Vivo (Biscoito Fino 2007)

Chega de Saudade - Trilha Sonora do Filme (Universal 2008)

See also

• Garrincha
• Afro-Brazilians

References

• Discography

External links

• Elza Soares discography at Discogs