Carlinhos Brown

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Carlinhos Brown (b. November 23, 1962) is a Brazilian musician from Salvador, Bahia. After falling in love with the music of James Brown, he took Brown as his surname. His music is a mixture of Brazilian and rock and soul music. The music features heavy percussion rhythms and Caribbean and Afro-Brazilian-influenced musical styles.

Brown learned to play various percussion instruments as he grew up and in the 1980s he began to collaborate with other artists. In 1984 he played with Luís Caldas's band "Acordes Verdes", one of the originators of samba-reggae, and in 1985 he formed part of Caetano Veloso's band on the record Estrangeiro, penning a song, "Meia Lua Inteira", that was very successful in Brazil and outside the country. In 1985, Luís Caldas recorded “Visão de Cíclope”, composed by Carlinhos Brown, and it became one of the hottest songs on Salvador's radio stations. Following this, he composed “Remexer”, “O Côco” and “É Difícil” for other artists, earning him a Caymmi trophy, one of the most important music awards in Bahía, and led to his participation in world tours with João Gilberto, Djavan, and João Bosco.

In the 1990s he became known nationally and internationally as the leader of the musical group Timbalada, which consisted of more than 100 percussionists and singers, called "timbaleiros", the majority of them young kids from the Candeal neighborhood of Salvador, where Carlinhos was born. They recorded eight albums and toured various country around the world. In 1993 Billboard Magazine named him the "best record producer in Latin America."

On the heels of Timbalada's success, in 1996 Brown launched a solo album called Alfagamabetizado, on which he sang, composed, and played the instruments. He followed this up with his sophomore effort Omelete Man, and a third album, Bahia do Mundo, Mito e Verdade.

In 2002 he formed the group Tribalistas with Arnaldo Antunes and Marisa Monte, contributing vocals to their self-titled album Os Tribalistas. Their single "Já sei namorar" became the number one song on Brazilian radio stations, and their second single "Velha Infância" almost met with equal success. The album spawned two more hits in Brazil, "Passe Em Casa", co-written with Margareth Menezes, and "É Você". In 2003 Tribalistas won the Best Album, Best DVD, and Best Song (for "Já Sei Namorar") awards from the Multishow of Brazilian Music.

Brown released Carlinos Brown É Carlito Marrón in 2003 and collaborated with DJ Dero on the 2004 album Candyall Beat. The Carlito Marrón album achieved considerable success in Spain where it was repackaged a year later with extra tracks, achieveing a hit single "Maria Caipirinha" (with DJ Dero) on the Spanish charts in 2005. Carlinhos Brown remains active in the Salvador da Bahía community, founding the Pracatum Music School in the Candeal neighborhood in 1994 as a non-profit organization dedicated to education, cultural, and community development programs in the city, including a professional music school. In addition, Brown has his own recording label, Candyall Records. Brown has also began painting, and his art works are being well received.

Carlinhos Brown is extensively featured in the 2004 documentary El Milagro de Candeal.

His own website in Portuguese and English is here: http://carlinhosbrown.uol.com.br/