Guilherme de Brito Bollhorst (January 3, 1922 – April 28, 2006), known as Guilherme de Brito, was a Brazilian '' sambista'', singer, songwriter, and painter.

Biography

Guilherme de Brito Bollhorst was born in Vila Isabel, a traditional neighborhood with regard to

samba Samba () is a broad term for many of the rhythms that compose the better known Brazilian music genres that originated in the Afro-Brazilians, Afro Brazilian communities of Bahia in the late 19th century and early 20th century, It is a name or ...

, the home of 12 years older Noel Rosa, with whom he was acquainted and who often gave him rides on his car. Brito was the son of Alfredo Nicolau Bollhorst and Marieta de Brito Bollhorst. Guilherme de Brito got a

cavaquinho The cavaquinho (pronounced in Portuguese) is a small Portuguese string instrument in the European guitar family, with four wires or gut strings. A cavaquinho player is called a ''cavaquista''. Tuning A common tuning in Portugal is C G& ...

as a present when he was eight; later he became also a '' violonista''. With the death of his father when he was 12, Brito had to drop his studies and start working. He got a job at old Casa Edson, one of the first recording studios to function in Brazil. His aptitude as an artist arose at an early age; when still a boy, he used to draw with pencils and coal. Guilherme de Brito met his most important partner, 11 years older

Nelson Cavaquinho Nelson Antônio da Silva (October 29, 1911 – February 18, 1986), better known by the stage name Nelson Cavaquinho, was one of the most important singer/composers of samba. He is usually seen as a representative of the tragic aspects of samba t ...

, when the latter, already famous and known, used to play in the bars of

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...

suburbs. Guilherme de Brito wrote 153 songs, the great majority being sambas, almost all of them in partnership, being 75 with Nelson Cavaquinho. They were recorded by many samba artists besides himself, such as

Cartola Angenor de Oliveira, known as Cartola ( Portuguese for top hat), (; October 11, 1908 – November 30, 1980) was a Brazilian singer, composer and poet considered to be a major figure in the development of samba. Cartola composed, alone or with ...

Elizeth Cardoso Elizeth Moreira Cardoso (sometimes listed as Elisete Cardoso) (July 16, 1920 – May 7, 1990), was a singer and actress of great renown in Brazil. Biography Cardoso was born in Rio de Janeiro; her father was a serenader who played guitar, a ...

, Paulinho da Viola and especially Beth Carvalho, who had a great reverence for the work of the duo Guilherme de Brito-Nelson Cavaquinho. Some of their most famous songs include "A Flor e O Espinho", "Quando eu me Chamar Saudade", "Pranto de Poeta", "Folhas Secas" and "Minha Festa". As a painter, Guilherme de Brito has his works exhibited in galleries across

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

, the United States, Japan and Australia.

Discography

* 2003 - ''A Flor e o Espinho'' * 2001 - ''Samba Guardado'' * 1990 - ''Folhas Secas'' * 1988 - ''Guilherme de Brito'' * 1980 - ''Guilherme de Brito''

External links

Cliquemusic

Guilherme de Brito - Dicionário Cravo Albin da Música Popular Brasileira
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brito, Guilherme de 1922 births 2006 deaths 20th-century Brazilian male singers 20th-century Brazilian singers Samba musicians Singers from Rio de Janeiro (city)