Marcos Valle was the Renaissance man of Brazilian pop, a singer/songwriter/producer who straddled the country's music world from the early days of the bossa nova craze well into the fusion-soaked sound of '80s MPB. Though his reputation in America never quite compared to contemporaries like Caetano Veloso, Milton Nascimento, Gilberto Gil, or even Tom Zé, Valle is one of the most important and popular performers in the history of Brazilian pop.
Born in Rio de Janeiro in 1943, Valle studied classical music as a child but listened to many different types of music, especially jazz. He began writing songs with his brother Paulo Sérgio -- Marcos was the tune writer, Paulo the lyricist -- in the early '60s, and after Tamba Trio found a hit with his "Sonho de Maria," Valle was named Brazil's Leading Composer of the Year at the age of 19. A recording contract soon followed, and in 1964 he released his first album, Samba Demais, for EMI Brazil. A tour with Sergio Mendes & Brasil '65 the following year brought his first show business connections in America (via Merv Griffin), and in 1966 Walter Wanderley took Valle's song "So Nice (Summer Samba)" into the U.S. Top 40. Valle soon earned his own American contract, and in 1967, Warner Bros. released the instrumentals album Braziliance! One year later, his Verve debut, Samba '68, became a Brazilian classic thanks to simple, infectious pop songs like "Batucada," "Chup, Chup, I Got Away," and "Crickets Sing for Anamaria" (all of which featured spot-on harmony vocals by his wife, Anamaria).
Despite the incredible promise revealed by Samba '68, it was his last American album to date. That same year, the Brazilian-only Viola Enluarada became a big hit in South America, thanks in part to the title track (with vocals by a young Milton Nascimento). The rock & roll era that had already influenced tropicalistas like Os Mutantes, Caetano Veloso, and Gilberto Gil soon began inspiring Valle as well. With albums like the irresistible 1971 classic Garra, he moved away from native Brazilian forms like the bossa nova and samba and into a rock-influenced sound that played up groove-heavy bass and smooth funk even while courting his amazing melodic sense. He continued recording for EMI until he moved to America in 1975. There, he wrote and arranged tracks for Eumir Deodato, Airto Moreira, and Chicago. He continued to record solo albums during the early '80s, adding electronics and smooth production techniques to the mix with surprisingly solid results, but also moved into writing music (often with Paulo) for films and novellas, including the theme to Brazil's version of Sesame Street.
During the late '80s, the rare-groove craze centered in London resurrected and relentlessly compiled dozens of crucial overlooked tracks from the '60s and '70s, including Valle's "Crickets Sing for Anamaria." In 1995, the British label Mr. Bongo released a two-volume series (The Essential Marcos Valle) dedicated to his work. One year later, Valle appeared on the jam session compilation Friends from Rio, and in 1998 returned with a new album, Nova Bossa Nova. That same year, the Lumiar label released The Marcos Valle Songbook, Vol. 1 and Vol. 2, including new versions of Valle standards by Gal Costa, Caetano Veloso, Maria Bethania, Edu Lobo, Joyce, Chico Buarque, Joao Bosco, and Azymuth, among others. The new millennium heralded another studio album, Escape, as well as prescient Japanese reissues from his late-'60s/early-'70s peak. Additional albums followed during the 2000s, including Contrasts (2003) and Jet Samba (2005), as well as the live Conecta ao Vivo No Cinematheque (2008). He entered the new decade with another new studio album, 2010's Estática. ~ John Bush, Rovi
