Nara Leão | Artist
Nara Leão was a Brazilian bossa nova and Tropicália singer and occasional actress born 1942 in Vitoria, Espirito Santo, Brazil. As a teenager in the late 1950s, she was already singing and playing guitar, when she became friends with a number of singers and composers who took part in Bossa Nova's musical revolution, including João Gilberto and Antônio Carlos Jobim. In fact, it was in her parents' home in Copacabana, Rio de Janeiro that these musicians gathered and the new music was born in 1958. By 1963, after singing as an amateur for a few years, Leão became a professional and toured with Sergio Mendes. Just as the British Invasion or Yé Yé trend in France were taking off, which reflected major social-cultural changes, the same phenomenon was happening in Brasil and Nara Leão was one of the precursors of this new movement, which would be called Música Popular Brasileira (MPB). She represents the archetype of the modern, sexy and independent woman, witnessing the rise of the hippie movement, feminism and the emancipation of women in the late 60s, including outspoken political commentary in her song lyrics in response to the institution of military dictatorship in Brazil at that time. In 1968 she appeared on the greatly influential collaboration album Tropicália: ou Panis et Cirenses, performing the song "Lindonéia." She later left Brazil for Paris and in the 1970s abandoned music to focus on her family. She returned to music later, and when she discovered in 1979 that she had an inoperable brain tumor, she increased her productivity as much as possible but died in 1989, aged 47. Nara released a total of 23 studio albums, including a collaboration with Roberto Menescal and one movie soundtrack. Standout albums include Nara (1964), O canto livre de Nara (1965), Dez anos depois (1971) and Os meus amigos são um barato (1977). In Brazil Nara Leão is affectionately know as "the muse of bossa nova."
Artist Website: wikipedia.org/Nara_Leão
Featured Albums: Nara Leão
Related Artists: Carlos Lyra, Chico Buarque, Sergio Mendes
