Roberto Menescal (born October 25, 1937) is a Brazilian composer, record producer, guitarist, vocalist, and pioneer of

bossa nova Bossa nova () is a style of samba developed in the late 1950s and early 1960s in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It is mainly characterized by a "different beat" that altered the harmonies with the introduction of unconventional chords and an innovat ...

. In many of his songs there are references to the sea, including his best-known composition "O Barquinho" ("Little Boat"). He is also known for work with

Carlos Lyra Carlos Eduardo Lyra Barbosa (born 11 May 1933) is a Brazilian singer and composer of numerous bossa nova and Música popular brasileira classics. He and Antonio Carlos Jobim, were the first two music composers, together with lyricists Vinicius ...

Nara Leão Nara Lofego Leão (; January 19, 1942 – June 7, 1989) was a Brazilian bossa nova and MPB (popular Brazilian music) singer and occasional actress. Her husband was Carlos Diegues, director and writer of '' Bye Bye Brasil''. Life Leão was bor ...

Wanda Sá Wanda Maria Ferreira de Sá (born July 1, 1944) (also Wanda de Sah) is a Brazilian bossa nova singer and guitarist, active from 1964 to the present day. Her first guitar teacher, when she was 13, was Roberto Menescal. Later, she worked with Sérgi ...

, Ale Vanzella, and many others. Menescal has performed in

Latin music Latin music ( Portuguese and es, música latina) is a term used by the music industry as a catch-all category for various styles of music from Ibero-America (including Spain and Portugal) and the Latino United States inspired by Latin Amer ...

genres such as

Música popular brasileira Música popular brasileira (, ''Popular Brazilian Music'') or MPB is a trend in post-bossa nova urban popular music in Brazil that revisits typical Brazilian styles such as samba, samba-canção and baião and other Brazilian regional music, com ...

(Brazilian pop), bossa nova, and

samba Samba (), also known as samba urbano carioca (''urban Carioca samba'') or simply samba carioca (''Carioca samba''), is a Brazilian music genre that originated in the Afro-Brazilian communities of Rio de Janeiro in the early 20th century. Havi ...

. He was nominated for a

Latin Grammy The Latin Grammy Awards are an award by The Latin Recording Academy to recognize outstanding achievement in the Latin music industry. The Latin Grammy honors works recorded in Spanish or Portuguese from anywhere around the world that has been ...

for his work with his son's bossa group

Bossacucanova Bossacucanova is a Brazilian musical group. The group combines traditional bossa nova with electronica. The group is most notable for having been nominated for a Latin Grammy Awards, Latin Grammy award in 2002 for Latin Grammy Awards of 2002#B ...

in 2002 and received the 2013 Latin Recording Academy Special Awards in Las Vegas in November 2013.Roberto Menescal to receive a Latin Grammy 2013 http://latingrammy.prod.acquia-sites.com/en/news/2013-latin-recording-academy-special-awards

Career

In 1957, he worked as sideman for Sylvia Telles in Brazil. A year later he started a guitar school with

. He formed one of the earliest bossa nova bands with Bebeto, Henrique, João Mário, and Luís Carlos Vinhas. He spread bossa nova through performances and concerts in the late 1950s and early 1960s, such as the I Festival de Samba Session. Alaíde Costa recorded Menescal's song "Jura de Pombo" in 1959. "O Barquinho" was recorded the next year by

Maysa Maysa Figueira Monjardim (June 6, 1936 – January 22, 1977), better known as Maysa Matarazzo, was a Brazilian singer-songwriter, performer and actress. She is also associated with Bossa nova music but is widely known as a torch song (''fossa' ...

Paulinho Nogueira Paulinho Nogueira (Campinas, 8 October 1929 – São Paulo, 2 August 2003) was a Brazilian guitarist, composer and singer. Biography He was an eclectic composer, his influences ranging from bossa nova to Bach. Paulinho Nogueira designed the cr ...

, and Perry Ribeiro. He sang "O Barquinho" at

Carnegie Hall Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between West 56th and 57th Streets. Designed by architect William Burnet Tuthill and built ...

in 1962 when he attended the Bossa Nova Festival with

and

Antonio Carlos Jobim Antonio is a masculine given name of Etruscan origin deriving from the root name Antonius. It is a common name among Romance language-speaking populations as well as the Balkans and Lusophone Africa. It has been among the top 400 most popular ma ...

. During the middle to late 1960s, he was an arranger and record producer for

PolyGram PolyGram N.V. was a multinational entertainment company and major music record label formerly based in the Netherlands. It was founded in 1962 as the Grammophon-Philips Group by Dutch corporation Philips and German corporation Siemens, to be a ...

, producing music for

Maria Bethânia Maria Bethânia Viana Teles Veloso (; born 18 June 1946) is a Brazilian singer and songwriter. Born in Santo Amaro, Bahia, she started her career in Rio de Janeiro in 1964 with the show "Opinião" ("Opinion"). Due to its popularity, with perform ...

Gal Costa Gal Maria da Graça Costa Penna Burgos (born Maria da Graça Costa Penna Burgos; 26 September 1945 – 9 November 2022), known professionally as Gal Costa (), was a Brazilian singer of popular music. She was one of the main figures of the tro ...

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 Minister of Culture in the administration ...

, Jorge Ben Jor, and

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 Tropicalismo, which encomp ...

. In 1970, he became the talent scout for PolyGram. He composed music for movies and television and was a sideman in the studio for

Elis Regina Elis Regina Carvalho Costa (March 17, 1945 – January 19, 2002), known professionally as Elis Regina (), was a Brazilian singer of MPB and jazz music. She is also the mother of the singers Maria Rita and Pedro Mariano. She became national ...

Jair Rodrigues Jair Rodrigues de Oliveira (February 6, 1939 – May 8, 2014) was a Brazilian musician and singer. He is the father of Luciana Mello and Jair Oliveira, who also followed in his footsteps and became musicians. Biography Born in Igarapava, Rodr ...

, and Claudette Soares. In the 1980s, he concentrated on a solo career, recording with jazz saxophonist

Joe Henderson Joe Henderson (April 24, 1937 – June 30, 2001) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist. In a career spanning more than four decades, Henderson played with many of the leading American players of his day and recorded for several prominent l ...

. He owns the record label Albatross.

Discography

* ''A Bossa Nova'' ( Elenco, 1963) * ''The Boy from Ipanema Beach'' ( Kapp, 1965) * ''O Conjunto De Roberto Menescal'' (1969) * ''Um Cantinho, Um Violão'' (Philips, 1985) * ''Swingueira'' ( Albatroz, 1996) * ''Bossa Evergreen'' (Albatroz, 2000) * ''Brasilidade'' (Six Degrees, 2001) * ''Bossa Entre Amigos'' (Albatroz, 2003) * ''Bossa Jazz Session'' with

Eddy Palermo Eddie or Eddy may refer to: Science and technology * Eddy (fluid dynamics), the swirling of a fluid and the reverse current created when the fluid flows past an obstacle * Eddie (text editor), a text editor originally for BeOS and now ported to Li ...

(Albatroz, 2003) * ''Bossa Zen'' (Albatroz, 2003) * ''Eu & Chis'' with

Cris Delanno Cris is a familiar form of the names Christopher, Cristian, Chris, Cristina. Cris may also refer to: Places * Criș, the Romanian name for the river Körös in Hungary * Criș (Târnava Mare), a tributary of the Târnava Mare in Mureș County, ...

(Albatroz, 2003) * ''Jazz Zen'' (Albatroz, 2004)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Menescal, Roberto 1937 births Living people Bossa nova guitarists Brazilian pop guitarists Brazilian record producers Latin Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award winners Latin music composers Latin music record producers Brazilian male guitarists Male jazz musicians Música Popular Brasileira guitarists