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. Although his American reputation was not as good as that of contemporaries such as Milton Nascimento and Gilberto Gil or Tom Ze, Valle is one the most popular performers in Brazilian pop history. Valle was born in Rio de Janeiro, 1943. He studied classical music in his youth, but also listened to jazz as a teenager. In the early 1960s, Valle began to write songs with his brother Paulo Sergio — Marcos was a tune writer and Paulo was the lyricist. After Tamba Trio’s hit “Sonho de Maria”, Valle was named Brazil’s Leading Composer. At the age of 19, he was also awarded the title of Brazil’s Leading composer of the Year. He soon signed a recording contract and released his first album, Samba Demais for EMI Brazil in 1964. Sergio Mendes on tour
