Novos Baianos Boca de Cantor began as the lead singer of the group
Orquesta Avanço that formed in
Salvador, Bahia, Brazil in the interior of
Bahia. In 1969 he founded the band, Novos Baianos, alongside
Pepeu Gomes,
Baby Consuelo,
Luiz Galvão, and
Moraes Moreira. He was one of the principal composers of the group along with Luiz Galvão. As a member of Novos Baianos, he released 10 studio albums, including
Acabou Chorare, which has been considered to be the best Brazilian album of all time. In 1976 he released the
Trio Elétrico dos Novos Baianos. This marked the first time vocals had been included in an electric trio and influenced the format of the genre since vocals became a staple thereafter. He began his solo career in 1979 with the disbanding of Novos Baianos.
Solo career He released his first solo album,
Paulinho Boca de Cantor - Bom de Chinfra e Bom de Amor, in 1979 and featured collaboration with
Gilberto Gil and Luiz Galvão on the track “Que bom prato é vatapá”. 1981 marked one of the high points of his solo career with the release of
Valeu, one of the best selling independent albums in Brazilian history. In 1983, he played in
Rome in the show
Bahia de Todos os Sambas, alongside
Gal Costa,
Caetano Veloso, and
João Gilberto. In the following years he signed a contract with
EMI and recorded three albums. He founded Associação Bahiana de Artistas Independentes (Bahian Association of Independent Artists, ABAI). In 1997 he reunited with Novos Baianos and released the disc
Infinito Circular on the label
Som Livre. The same year also featured live shows with the band including, "Noite Brasileira" in the
Montreux Jazz Festival in
Montreux,
Switzerland. In 2000, he became a researcher of the history of Brazilian Music, and in 2008 recorded a special for
TVE Bahia. ==References==