Ivan Guimarães Lins (born 16 June 1945) is a
Latin Grammy-winning Brazilian musician. He has been an active performer and songwriter of
Brazilian popular music (MPB) and
jazz
Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...
for over fifty years. His first hit, "Madalena", was recorded by
Elis Regina in 1970. "Love Dance", a hit in 1989, is one of the most recorded songs in contemporary music .
His songs have been covered by
Patti Austin,
David Benoit,
George Benson,
Michael Bublé,
Eliane Elias,
Ella Fitzgerald,
Dave Grusin,
Shirley Horn,
Quincy Jones
Quincy Delight Jones Jr. (March 14, 1933 – November 3, 2024) was an American record producer, composer, arranger, conductor, trumpeter, and bandleader. Over the course of his seven-decade career, he received List of awards and nominations re ...
,
Steve Kuhn,
the Manhattan Transfer,
Sérgio Mendes,
Jane Monheit,
Mark Murphy,
Carmen McRae,
Joe Pass,
Lee Ritenour,
Sarah Vaughan,
Diane Schuur,
Sting,
Barbra Streisand
Barbara Joan "Barbra" Streisand ( ; born April 24, 1942) is an American singer, actress, songwriter, producer, and director. With a career spanning over six decades, she has achieved success across multiple fields of entertainment, being the ...
,
Take 6
Take 6 is an American a cappella gospel sextet formed in 1980 on the campus of Oakwood College in Huntsville, Alabama. The group integrates jazz with spiritual and inspirational lyrics. Take 6 has received several Grammy Awards as well as D ...
,
Toots Thielemans
Jean-Baptiste Frédéric Isidor, Baron Thielemans (29 April 1922 – 22 August 2016), known professionally as Toots Thielemans (), was a Belgian jazz musician. He was mostly known for playing the chromatic harmonica, as well as his guitar and wh ...
,
Dan Costa (musician) and
Nancy Wilson.
Life
Ivan Lins was born in Ituverava - São Paulo. He spent several years in
Boston
Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...
, Massachusetts, while his father, a naval engineer, continued graduate studies at
M.I.T., studied at the Military College in Rio. He later received a degree in industrial
chemical engineering
Chemical engineering is an engineering field which deals with the study of the operation and design of chemical plants as well as methods of improving production. Chemical engineers develop economical commercial processes to convert raw materials ...
from the
Federal University of Rio de Janeiro. He considered a career in volleyball before discovering his considerable musical talent. Ivan Lins currently resides in Rio de Janeiro and Lisbon. He was married to
Lucinha Lins, with whom they had two children, including
Cláudio Lins.
Work
Ivan Lins has released albums regularly and penned several standards, such as "Love Dance", "Começar de Novo" (Starting Over) (the English lyric version is titled "The Island", with lyrics by
Alan and
Marilyn Bergman) and "Velas Içadas", which have made their way north into the American jazz lexicon. "You Moved Me to This", a duet with Brenda Russell from the same album as "Love Dance", saw modest success on American radio. He recorded in English for
Reprise/
Warner Bros. Records in the early 1990s.
In the mid-eighties, Lins recorded a jazz fusion album with
Dave Grusin and
Lee Ritenour titled ''Harlequin'', which was a critical and commercial success. Lins also composed the soundtrack for the Brazilian film ''Dois Córregos''.
Lins' longtime composing partner is
Vítor Martins. Their songs typically feature lush harmony with a distinctive jazz sensibility. One signature voicing Lins often employs when performing his own compositions is the delayed addition of a 11 to a sus13 chord, or the delayed addition of a 9 to a sus13 chord.
Lins appeared as a guest performer on the albums ''Dois Mundos'' (1998) and ''Recorded in Rio'' (2003) by the Dutch artist Josee Koning. He also appeared on the
Michael Bublé album ''
Call Me Irresponsible'' (2007) and with singer/songwriter
Paula Cole on her 2007 CD ''
Courage
Courage (also called bravery, valour ( British and Commonwealth English), or valor (American English)) is the choice and willingness to confront agony, pain, danger, uncertainty, or intimidation. Valor is courage or bravery, especially in ...
'', singing a duet with her on the song "Hard to be Soft". Lins guested on American artist Jane Monheit's album ''Surrender'' (2007), which includes his composition "Rio de Maio".
Jazz reporter and music critic David Adler reported Lins's October 2000 Carnegie Hall concert performance and tribute to him. The event corresponded with the tribute album titled ''A Love Affair'', released by Telarc Records. Headline performers from diverse genres participated in celebrating the man and his music on the recording and in the world-class performance hall, a noteworthy accomplishment in the history of any musician.
, Lins maintained an intermittent North American tour schedule, including performances at
Yoshi's that year (and a decade prior), and in New York City: a 2003 appearance at
the Blue Note, and then in May 2008, with
Rosa Passos, at
Jazz at Lincoln Center.
Beyond his own performance of his compositions,
Simone is a notable and respected interpreter of his work.
In 2023, Ivan Lins' Um Novo Tempo, released in 1980 as a song of resistance against the US-backed Brazilian military regime, was played at Beijing Tiananmen Square to welcome Brazilian President
Lula for a state visit. The song was suggested by the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Brazil). Ivan Lins later said on Twitter: "I'm so emotional! You can't imagine how much this means to me and Vitor
artins"
Awards and honors
In
2005
2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...
, he won two
Latin Grammy Awards;
Album of the Year and Best MPB (Música popular brasileira) Album for ''
Cantando Histórias''. He became the first Brazilian artist and Portuguese-language artist to win the Latin Grammy for Album of the Year. No other Brazilian artist or Portuguese-language artist has won the award since then.
Lins was nominated for three Latin Grammy Awards in
2009
2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...
for his latest album, ''
Regência: Vince Mendoza'' performed with the Metropole Orchestra. He was nominated for
Record of the Year
The Grammy Award for Record of the Year is presented by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to "honor artistic achievement, technical proficiency and overall excellence in the recording industry, without re ...
(''Arlequim Desconhecido'') and Album of the Year. He won the award for Best MPB (Música popular brasileira) Album.
In 2015, he was nominated for the
16th Latin Grammy Awards in the
Best MPB Album category for his album ''América Brasil''.
Discography
* ''Agora'' (Forma, 1971)
* ''Deixa O Trem Seguir'' (Forma, 1971)
* ''Quem Sou Eu'' (Philips, 1972)
* ''Modo Livre'' (RCA Victor, 1974)
* ''Chama Acesa'' (RCA Victor, 1975)
* ''
Somos Todos Iguais Nesta Noite'' (EMI, 1977)
* ''Nos Dias de Hoje'' (EMI, 1978)
* ''A Noite'' (EMI, 1979)
* ''Novo Tempo'' (EMI, 1980)
* ''Daquilo Que Eu Sei'' (Philips, 1981)
* ''Depois Dos Temporais'' (Philips, 1983)
* ''Juntos'' (Philips, 1984)
* ''Ivan Lins'' (Som Livre, 1986)
* ''Mãos'' (Philips, 1987)
* ''Amar Assim'' (Philips, 1988)
* ''Brazilian Knights and a Lady'' (Verve, 1988)
* ''Love Dance'' (Reprise, 1989)
* ''Awa Yiô'' (Reprise, 1990)
* ''Anjo de Mim'' (Velas, 1995)
* ''Ao Vivo'' (Velas, 1996)
* ''Viva Noel: Tributo a Noel Rosa Vol. 1'' (Velas, 1997)
* ''Viva Noel: Tributo a Noel Rosa Vol. 2'' (Velas, 1997)
* ''Viva Noel: Tributo a Noel Rosa Vol. 3'' (Velas, 1997)
* ''Live at MCG'' (Heads Up, 1999)
* ''Um Novo Tempo'' (Abril, 1999)
* ''A Cor Do Pôr-Do-Sol'' (Abril, 2000)
* ''Jobiniando'' (Abril, 2001)
* ''Love Songs – A Quem Me Faz Feliz'' (Abril, 2002)
* ''
Cantando Histórias'' (EMI, 2004)
* ''Acariocando'' (EMI, 2006)
* ''Saudades de Casa'' (Warner, 2007)
* ''
Regência: Vince Mendoza'' (2009)
* ''Íntimo'' (Som Livre, 2010)
* ''Amoragio'' (Som Livre, 2012)
* ''Cornucopia'' (Moosicus, 2013)
* ''America, Brazil'' (Sony, 2014)
* ''Muito Bom Tocar Junto'' (Discobertas, 2016)
* ''Anos 70'' (Discobertas, 2017)
* ''Cumpliciade'' (Fina Flor, 2017)
References
External links
Official web siteSelected discography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lins, Ivan
1945 births
Living people
Brazilian composers
Brazilian jazz musicians
Latin music composers
Latin Grammy Award winners
Música Popular Brasileira musicians
Philips Records artists
Reprise Records artists
Warner Music Latina artists
Federal University of Rio de Janeiro alumni
Massachusetts Institute of Technology alumni
Musicians from Rio de Janeiro (city)
20th-century Brazilian musicians
21st-century Brazilian male musicians
20th-century Brazilian composers
21st-century Brazilian composers