Jorge Aragão
Jorge Aragão (Portuguese pronunciation: [ˈʒɔxʒi araˈɡɐ̃w], (b. March 1, 1949 in Rio de Janeiro), birth name Jorge Aragão da Cruz) is a Brazilian musician, singer/songwriter, working in the genres of samba and pagode. He is a multi-instrumentalist, and plays the guitar, surdo, cavaco and banjo, among other instruments. In performance, he usually plays the cavaquinho most of the show, and sometimes the banjo.
Biography
Aragão started his career in the '70s as a sambista at balls and in nightclubs. His songwriting career took off in 1977, when Elza Soares recorded his composition "Malandro" (with Jotabê). He was a founding member of Grupo Fundo de Quintal (nucleus of the pagode genre) and one of its main composers and lyricists, abandoning the band some time later to dedicate himself to a solo career. Almost every great samba interpreter (Beth Carvalho, Alcione, Zeca Pagodinho, Martinho da Vila) has Jorge Aragão compositions in their repertoire.
The first solo album, Jorge Aragão, came in 1982, from Ariola. Conversant in the carnaval carioca, he was a commentator for the samba school parades on the TV networks Globo and Manchete. With 12 records to his credit, he has toured the United States and performs in various cities in Brazil. Among his greatest hits are "Amigos... Amantes", "Do Fundo do Nosso Quintal", "Enredo do Meu Samba", "Ontem", and "Coisinha do Pai" (with Almir Guineto and Luiz Carlos da Vila), immortalized in the recording by Beth Carvalho, which was inserted in the Mars Pathfinder probe in the late '90s. A lot of songs considered samba classics and very well known by the singing public of the rodas de samba were written by Jorge.
With almost 30 years dedicated entirely to samba and Música popular brasileira, Jorge Aragão is still actively performing in Brazil, more popular than ever.