Milton Silva Campos do Nascimento (; born October 26, 1942), also known as Bituca, is a Brazilian singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. Nascimento has recorded 32 studio albums and has won five

Grammy Awards The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious a ...

, including Best World Music Album for his album '' Nascimento'' in 1998, and twelve Brazilian Music Awards. He has collaborated with various artists including

Björk Björk Guðmundsdóttir ( , ; born 21 November 1965), known mononymously as Björk, is an Icelandic singer, songwriter, composer, record producer, and actress. Noted for her distinct voice, three-octave vocal range, and eccentric public per ...

Pat Metheny Patrick Bruce Metheny ( ; born August 12, 1954) is an American jazz guitarist and composer. He was the leader of the Pat Metheny Group (1977–2010) and continues to work in various small-combo, duet, and solo settings, as well as other side pr ...

Caetano Veloso Caetano Emanuel Viana Teles Veloso (; born 7 August 1942) is a Brazilian composer, singer, guitarist, writer, and political activist. Veloso first became known for his participation in the Brazilian musical movement Tropicália, which encompas ...

, and

Elis Regina Elis Regina Carvalho Costa (March 17, 1945 – January 19, 1982), known professionally as Elis Regina (), was a Brazilian singer of Bossa nova, Música popular brasileira, MPB and jazz music. She is also the mother of the singers Maria Rita and ...

Biography

Milton Nascimento was born in the boarding house Dona Augusta in the neighborhood of

Tijuca Tijuca () (meaning marsh or swamp in the Tupi language, from ''ty'' ("water") and ''îuk'' ("rotten")) is a neighbourhood of the Rio de Janeiro#North Zone, Northern Zone of the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It comprises the region of Saens P ...

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 ...

, where his mother, Maria do Carmo do Nascimento, was a

maid A maid, housemaid, or maidservant is a female domestic worker. In the Victorian era, domestic service was the second-largest category of employment in England and Wales, after agricultural work. In developed Western nations, full-time maids a ...

. Maria raised her son on her own, until dying of tuberculosis when he was two, thereafter he was taken care of by his maternal grandmother. Nascimento was then adopted as a young child by the relatives of the grandmother's former employers; Josino Brito Campos, a bank employee, mathematics teacher and electronic technician and Lília Silva Campos, a music teacher and choir singer. He moved with his adoptive parents to the city of

Três Pontas Três Pontas (, ''Three Tips'') is a Municipalities of Brazil, municipality located in southern Minas Gerais state, Brazil. It's a city with about all streets of urban zone paved and services of water and sewage to all people. The municipality h ...

, in the state of

Minas Gerais Minas Gerais () is one of the 27 federative units of Brazil, being the fourth largest state by area and the second largest in number of inhabitants with a population of 20,539,989 according to the 2022 Brazilian census, 2022 census. Located in ...

. When Nascimento was a child, he was nicknamed "Bituca" because he pouted when he was upset, which made him look like a native '' botocudo''. Nascimento took an interest in music as a child thanks to his mother, who studied under Villa Lobos. At four years old, he was given an accordion and began to sing. At 13 years old, he became a crooner in the group Continental de Duilio Tiso Cougo. Nascimento was also an occasional DJ on a radio station that his father once ran. He lived in the neighborhoods of Laranjeiras and

in Rio de Janeiro. In 1968, Nascimento was married to a student named Lurdeca in Tijuca. The couple lived in Copabacana, though the marriage only lasted a month, later being annulled. After this, he chose to dedicate his time to music instead of marrying or having kids, however, he would later adopt a son, Augusto Kesrouani do Nascimento, in 2016 after ten years of knowing him.

Clube da Esquina

In the early stages of his career, Nascimento played in two

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 ...

groups, Evolussamba and Sambacana. He would also play in the group W's Boys alongside Wagner Tiso in

. In 1962, he recorded his first song "Barulho de Trem." A year later, in 1963, he moved to

Belo Horizonte Belo Horizonte is the List of largest cities in Brazil, sixth-largest city in Brazil, with a population of around 2.3 million, and the third largest metropolitan area, containing a population of 6 million. It is the List of cities in Sout ...

, where his friendship with Lô Borges led to the Clube da Esquina ("street corner club") movement. Members included Beto Guedes, Toninho Horta, Wagner Tiso, and Flávio Venturini, with whom he shared compositions and melodies. One composition was "Canção do Sal", which was first covered by singer

in 1966, and led to a television appearance with Nascimento. The collective, as well as some others, released '' Clube da Esquina'' in 1972. Several hit singles were also released. In 1967, he entered the Festival Internacional da Canção after Agostinho dos Santos had sent in three of his tracks to the search committee. He placed second with "Travessia" ("Bridges") and was able to score a three-album contract with Creed Taylor who had been in attendance. He moved to the United States to record with Taylor, beginning with the album ''Courage'' in 1969. Nascimento's compositions include songs such as "Nada Será Como Antes" ("Nothing Will Be As It Was"), "Maria, Maria", "Canção da América" ("Song from America"/"Unencounter"), "Bailes da Vida", and "Coração de Estudante" ("Student's Heart"), a song about the funeral of Edson Luís, who was killed by police officers in 1968. The song became the

hymn A hymn is a type of song, and partially synonymous with devotional song, specifically written for the purpose of adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification. The word ''hymn'' d ...

for the Diretas Já social-political campaign in 1984, was played at the funeral of President-elect Tancredo Neves the next year, and was also played at Ayrton Senna's funeral.

Diversification

While his reputation within Brazil was firmly established with his Clube da Esquina works, Nascimento's international breakthrough came with his appearance on

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 ...

saxophonist

Wayne Shorter Wayne Shorter (August 25, 1933 – March 2, 2023) was an American jazz saxophonist, composer and bandleader. Shorter came to mainstream prominence in 1959 upon joining Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers, for whom he eventually became the primary comp ...

's 1974 album '' Native Dancer''. This led to widespread acclaim, and collaborations with

Paul Simon Paul Frederic Simon (born October 13, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter known for his solo work and his collaborations with Art Garfunkel. He and Garfunkel, whom he met in elementary school in 1953, came to prominence in the 1960s as Sim ...

Sarah Vaughan Sarah Lois Vaughan (, March 27, 1924 – April 3, 1990) was an American jazz singer and pianist. Nicknamed "Sassy" and "List of nicknames of jazz musicians, The Divine One", she won two Grammy Awards, including the Lifetime Achievement Award, ...

, Mercedes Sosa,

Carlos Santana Carlos Humberto Santana Barragán (; born July 20, 1947) is an American guitarist, best known as a founding member of the Rock music, rock band Santana (band), Santana. Born and raised in Mexico where he developed his musical background, he r ...

, Pablo Milanés,

Cat Stevens Yusuf Islam (born Steven Demetre Georgiou; ), commonly known by his stage names Cat Stevens, Yusuf, and Yusuf / Cat Stevens, is a British singer-songwriter and musician. He has sold more than 100 million records and has more than two billion st ...

George Duke George Martin Duke (January 12, 1946 – August 5, 2013) was an American keyboardist, composer, singer-songwriter and record producer. He worked with numerous artists as arranger, music director, writer and co-writer, record producer and as ...

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 ...

and Earth, Wind And Fire. ''

Angelus FIle:Jean-François Millet (II) 001.jpg, ''The Angelus (painting), The Angelus'' (1857–1859) by Jean-François Millet The Angelus (; Latin for "angel") is a Catholic devotion commemorating the Incarnation (Christianity), Incarnation of Jesus ...

'' (1994) features appearances by

Ron Carter Ronald Levin Carter (born May 4, 1937) is an American jazz double bassist. His appearances on 2,221 recording sessions make him the most-recorded jazz bassist in history. He has won three Grammy Awards, and is also a Cello, cellist who has reco ...

Herbie Hancock Herbert Jeffrey Hancock (born April 12, 1940) is an American jazz musician, bandleader, and composer. He started his career with trumpeter Donald Byrd's group. Hancock soon joined the Miles Davis Quintet, where he helped to redefine the role of ...

, Jack DeJohnette, Nana Vasconcelos,

Jon Anderson Jon Anderson (born John Roy Anderson, 25 October 1944) is a British, and latterly American, singer, songwriter and musician, best known as the former lead singer of the progressive rock band Yes (band), Yes, which he formed in 1968 with bassis ...

James Taylor James Vernon Taylor (born March 12, 1948) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. A six-time Grammy Award winner, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000. Taylor achieved his breakthrough in 1970 with the single "Fi ...

, and

Peter Gabriel Peter Brian Gabriel (born 13 February 1950) is an English singer, songwriter, musician, and human rights activist. He came to prominence as the original frontman of the rock band Genesis. He left the band in 1975 and launched a solo career wit ...

, among many others. Through his friendship with guitarist Warren Cuccurullo, Nascimento came to work with the

pop rock Pop rock (also typeset as pop/rock) is a fusion genre and form of rock music characterized by a strong commercial appeal, with more emphasis on professional songwriting and recording craft, and less emphasis on attitude than standard rock musi ...

band

Duran Duran Duran Duran () are an English pop rock band formed in Birmingham in 1978 by singer Stephen Duffy, keyboardist Nick Rhodes and guitarist/bassist John Taylor (bass guitarist), John Taylor. After several early changes, the band's line-up settled ...

in 1993. Nascimento co-wrote and performed the song "Breath After Breath", featured on the band's 1993 album ''

''. He also performed with the band in concert when they toured in Brazil in support of that album. In 1996, Nascimento contributed the song "Dancing" to the AIDS benefit album '' Red Hot + Rio'', produced by the Red Hot Organization.

''Ser Minas Tão Gerais''

Nascimento starred in the 2002 musical theater piece '' Ser Minas Tão Gerais'' by the group Ponto de Partida. The piece paid homage to the poetry of Nascimento and Carlos Drummond de Andrade, two "iconic" poets from

. In 2004, he worked with the Brazilian heavy metal band Angra, on the song "Late Redemption" from their album '' Temple of Shadows''. In 2016, Nascimento was awarded an honorary

Doctor of Music The Doctor of Music degree (DMus, DM, MusD or occasionally MusDoc) is a doctorate awarded on the basis of a substantial portfolio of compositions, musical performances, and/or scholarly publications on music. In some institutions, the award is a ...

degree from

Berklee College of Music Berklee College of Music () is a Private university, private music college in Boston, Boston, Massachusetts. It is the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world. Known for the study of jazz and modern Music of the United ...

. In 2018, Nascimento released the EPs ''A Festa'' and ''Nada Será Como Antes'', consisting of acoustic reinterpretations of some of his past hits.

Collaborations and farewell tour

In 2020, Nascimento released ''Existe Amor'', a four-track collaborative EP with

São Paulo São Paulo (; ; Portuguese for 'Paul the Apostle, Saint Paul') is the capital of the São Paulo (state), state of São Paulo, as well as the List of cities in Brazil by population, most populous city in Brazil, the List of largest cities in the ...

rapper Criolo. The EP was part of the ''Existe Amor'' project, a campaign for a solidarity fund for Brazilians in socially vulnerable conditions during the

coronavirus pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. The campaign's launch took place via projections on buildings in São Paulo to encourage donations to organizations such as É de Lei, SP Invisível and Arsenal da Esperança, among others. On October 26, 2021, on his 79th birthday, Nascimento announced his 2022 farewell tour ''A Última Sessão de Música'' (The Last Music Session) on social media, although he would later state that he was not quitting music. The title of the tour is a reference to the track of the same name on his 1973 album '' Milagre dos Peixes''. He played his last show on November 13, 2022, at the

Mineirão Mineirão (; , named after its large structure), officially known as Governador Magalhães Pinto Stadium (, ; , named after Magalhães Pinto), is an association football stadium in Belo Horizonte, Brazil. Owned by the state of Minas Gerais, it ...

stadium in

. On November 15, 2023, Nascimento released ''Outros Cantos'', a collaborative album with sertanejo duo Chitãozinho & Xororó. On May 15, 2024, Nascimento announced a new album with American musician and songwriter

Esperanza Spalding Esperanza Emily Spalding (born October 18, 1984), sometimes professionally known with the stylized name of esperanza spalding, is an American bassist, singer, songwriter, and composer. Her accolades include five Grammy Awards, a Boston Music Aw ...

titled '' Milton + Esperanza''. Recorded in Brazil in 2023, it was released on August 9, 2024, via Concord Records and received critical acclaim from music critics. The album was nominated for Best Jazz Vocal Album at the 67th Annual Grammy Awards. On October 29, 2024, Nascimento released the collaborative EP ''Moon Over Minas'' with American musician and producer Jonathan Wilson. The EP was recorded while Wilson was on tour in Brazil. Although Milton stated that he would be retiring from live concerts and tours, a NPR Tiny Desk (Home) Concert was published on August 7, 2024, featuring him, Esperanza Spalding, Guinga, Maria Gadú, among other artists performing five songs from the album. As NPR Music states in the description of the performance on YouTube, "it’s likely to be the only video performance of this music".

Discography

Studio albums *1967: ''Milton Nascimento (Travessia)'' *1969: ''

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 ...

'' *1969: ''Milton Nascimento'' *1970: '' Milton'' *1972: '' Clube da Esquina'' (with Lô Borges and Clube da Esquina) *1973: '' Milagre dos Peixes'' *1974: '' Native Dancer'' (with

) *1975: '' Minas'' *1976: '' Geraes'' *1976: '' Milton'' (with Wayne Shorter and

) *1978: ''Clube da Esquina 2'' *1979: ''Journey to Dawn'' *1980: ''Sentinela'' *1981: ''Caçador de Mim'' *1982: ''Anima'' *1982: ''Ponta de Areia'' *1982: ''Missa dos Quilombos'' (with

Pedro Casaldáliga Pere Casaldàliga i Pla , known in Portuguese as Pedro Casaldáliga (16 February 19288 August 2020), was a Spanish-born Brazilian prelate of the Catholic Church who led the Territorial Prelature of São Félix, Brazil, from 1970 to 2005. A bisho ...

and Pedro Tierra) *1983: ''Ao Vivo'' *1985: ''Encontros e Despedidas'' *1986: ''A Barca dos Amantes'' (with Wayne Shorter) *1987: ''Yauaretê'' (with Wayne Shorter and Herbie Hancock) *1989: ''Miltons'' with Herbie Hancock *1990: ''Canção da America'' *1990: '' Txai'' *1992: ''Noticias do Brasil'' *1993: ''Três Pontas'' *1994: ''

'' (with

and

) *1994: ''O Planeta Blue na Estrada do Sol'' *1996: ''Amigo'' *1997: '' Nascimento'' *1998: ''Tambores de Minas'' *1999: ''Crooner'' *2000: ''Nos Bailes da Vida'' *2001: ''Gil & Milton'' (with

Gilberto Gil Gilberto Passos Gil Moreira (; born 26 June 1942), is a Brazilian singer-songwriter and politician, known for both his musical innovation and political activism. From 2003 to 2008, he served as Brazil's Ministry of Culture (Brazil), Minister of ...

) *2003: ''Pietá'' *2003: ''Music for Sunday Lovers'' *2005: ''O Coronel e o Lobisomem'' *2007: ''Milagre dos Peixes: Ao Vivo'' *2008: ''Novas Bossas'' *2008: ''Belmondo & Milton Nascimento'' *2010: ''...E a Gente Sonhando'' *2010: ''Under Tokyo Skies'' (with

) *2011: ''Nada Será Como Antes: O Musical'' *2013: ''Uma Travessia: 50 Anos de Carreira'' *2015: ''Tamarear'' (with Dudu Lima Trio) *2023: ''Outros Cantos'' (with Chitãozinho & Xororó) *2024: '' Milton + Esperanza'' (with

) Extended plays *2018: ''A Festa'' *2018: ''Nada Será Como Antes'' *2020: ''Existe Amor'' (with Criolo) *2024: ''Moon Over Minas'' (with Jonathan Wilson) Compilations *2000: ''Oratório'' *2004: ''Maria Maria / Ultimo Trem'' Guest appearances *1972: '' Elis'' by

*1978: '' Chico Buarque'' by Chico Buarque *1987: '' Brazilian Romance'' by

*1987: '' Dezembros'' by Maria Bethânia *2004: '' Temple of Shadows'' by Angra

Awards and recognition

* Latin Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award (2012) * Honorary Doctorate of Music, awarded by

(2016)

References

Sources

* * * * *Perrone, Charles A. ''Masters of Contemporary Brazilian Song: MPB 1965-1985''. Austin: University of Texas Press, 1989. Chapter 4.

External links

* – official website *
Interview with Milton Nascimento, 1988

Milton Nascimento: 12 Essential Performances
by Ted Gioia (jazz.com)
"Milton Nascimento Says Goodbye
with a final concert tour for Brazil, the USA and Europe in 2022, his 80th-birthday year. ''connectbrazil.com''. {{DEFAULTSORT:Nascimento, Milton 1942 births Living people Grammy Award winners Latin Grammy Award winners Latin Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award winners Latin music songwriters Acoustic guitarists Música Popular Brasileira guitarists Música Popular Brasileira singers Blue Note Records artists Far Out Recordings artists Nonesuch Records artists Warner Records artists Musicians from Rio de Janeiro (city) 20th-century Brazilian guitarists 21st-century Brazilian guitarists 20th-century Brazilian pianists 21st-century Brazilian pianists 20th-century Brazilian male singers 20th-century Brazilian singers 21st-century Brazilian male singers 21st-century Brazilian singer-songwriters Afro-Brazilian male singer-songwriters Brazilian male pianists Brazilian male singer-songwriters CTI Records artists Culture in Minas Gerais Brazilian jazz singers People from Três Pontas