Milton Nascimento

Biography

Milton Silva Campos do Nascimento (Brazilian Portuguese: [ˈmiwtõ ˈsiwvɐ ˈkɐ̃puz du nasiˈmẽtu]; 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, including Best World Music Album for his album Nascimento×Nascimento10 June 1997 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 12 tracks1Louva-a-deus3:072O Cavaleiro3:423Guardanapos de Papel5:244Cuerpo y Alma3:595Rouxinol3:156Janela Para o Mundo4:047E Agora, Rapaz?4:438Levantados do Chão3:169Ana Maria5:1810Ol' Man River3:3311Os Tambores de Minas3:1912Biromes y Servilletas5:24 in 1998, and twelve Brazilian Music Awards. He has collaborated with various artists including Björk, Pat Metheny, Caetano Veloso, and Elis Regina.

Biography

Milton Nascimento was born in the boarding house Dona Augusta in the neighborhood of Tijuca, Rio de Janeiro, where his mother, Maria do Carmo do Nascimento, was a maid. 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, in the state of Minas Gerais. 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 Tijuca 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 groups, Evolussamba and Sambacana. He would also play in the group W's Boys alongside Wagner Tiso in Três Pontas. In 1962, he recorded his first song "Barulho de Trem." A year later, in 1963, he moved to Belo Horizonte, 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 Elis Regina 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×Travessia1967 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 10 tracks1Três pontas2Crença3Irmão de fé4Travessia5Canção do sal6Morro velho7Gira, girou8Maria, minha fé9Catavento10Outubro" ("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×CourageDecember 1968 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 10 tracks1Travessia (Bridges)3:512Vera Cruz3:103Três pontes2:384Outubro4:095Courage3:246Rio vermelho3:197Gira, girou3:208Morro velho4:279Catavento2:2810Canção do sal3:05 in 1969.

Nascimento's compositions include songs such as "Nada Será Como Antes×Nada será como antes2013 · Album · SoundtrackSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 28 tracks1Canção amiga2:402Cigarra1:473Clube da esquina 23:134Clube da esquina2:545Aqui é o país do futebol1:546Raça2:277Caxangá1:518Morro velho3:379Maria Maria2:4410Caicó (Cantigas)2:4111Paula e Bebeto1:4512Saudades dos aviões da Panair (Conversando no bar)3:5113Caçador De Mim2:4114Milagre dos peixes2:5015Cais2:0616Encontros e despedidas2:1917Canção da América (Unencounter)3:0818Coração de estudante2:2719Ponta De Areia1:4820Fé cega, faca amolada2:1221Credo0:4222San Vicente3:0423Para Lennon e MacCartney2:1824O que foi feito devera (de Vera)3:1325Canto Latino / Sentinela / Menino3:1426Amor de Índio3:3427Travessia3:3828Nada será como antes2:17" ("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 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×Nascimento10 June 1997 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 12 tracks1Louva-a-deus3:072O Cavaleiro3:423Guardanapos de Papel5:244Cuerpo y Alma3:595Rouxinol3:156Janela Para o Mundo4:047E Agora, Rapaz?4:438Levantados do Chão3:169Ana Maria5:1810Ol' Man River3:3311Os Tambores de Minas3:1912Biromes y Servilletas5:24's international breakthrough came with his appearance on jazz saxophonist Wayne Shorter's 1974 album Native Dancer. This led to widespread acclaim, and collaborations with Paul Simon, Sarah Vaughan, Mercedes Sosa, Carlos Santana, Pablo Milanés, Cat Stevens, George Duke, Quincy Jones and Earth, Wind And Fire. Angelus (1994) features appearances by Pat Metheny, Ron Carter, Herbie Hancock, Jack DeJohnette, Nana Vasconcelos, Jon Anderson, James Taylor, and Peter Gabriel, among many others. Through his friendship with guitarist Warren Cuccurullo, Nascimento came to work with the pop rock band Duran Duran in 1993. Nascimento co-wrote and performed the song "Breath After Breath", featured on the band's 1993 album Duran Duran. 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 Minas Gerais.
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 degree from Berklee College of Music.
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 rapper Criolo. The EP was part of the Existe Amor×Existe Amor8 May 2020 · EPSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 4 tracks1Cais6:032Dez Anjos4:533Não Existe Amor em SP5:484O Tambor3:25 project, a campaign for a solidarity fund for Brazilians in socially vulnerable conditions during the coronavirus pandemic. 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×Milagre dos peixes1973 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 11 tracks · 2 discsDisc 1A1Os escravos de Jó3:12A2Carlos, Lucia, Chico e Tiago6:03A3Milagre dos peixes2:51A4A chamada4:18B1Pablo no. 23:13B2Tema dos deuses3:23B3Hoje e dia de El Rey6:55B4A última sessão de musica2:18Disc 2CCadê3:58D1Sacramento1:52D2Pablo2:53. He played his last show on November 13, 2022, at the Mineirão stadium in Belo Horizonte.
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 titled Milton + Esperanza×Milton + Esperanza9 August 2024 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 16 tracks1The Music Was There0:582Cais3:413Late September1:264Outubro5:185A Day in the Life4:376Interlude for Saci1:417Saci3:308Wings for the Thought Bird3:079The Way You Are0:4410Earth Song6:4311Morro Velho5:1512Saudade dos aviões da Panair (Conversando no bar)5:2513Um vento passou (Para Paul Simon)4:3714Get It by Now2:2415Outro planeta2:0616When You Dream9:27. 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×Minas1975 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 11 tracks1Minas2:322Fé cega, faca amolada4:393Beijo partido3:504Saudade dos aviões da Panair (Conversando no bar)4:295Gran Circo3:396Ponta de areia4:347Trastevere4:268Idolatrada4:479Leila (Venha ser feliz)3:3010Paula e Bebeto2:1611Simples2:16 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".

Health

In October 2025, Nascimento×Nascimento10 June 1997 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 12 tracks1Louva-a-deus3:072O Cavaleiro3:423Guardanapos de Papel5:244Cuerpo y Alma3:595Rouxinol3:156Janela Para o Mundo4:047E Agora, Rapaz?4:438Levantados do Chão3:169Ana Maria5:1810Ol' Man River3:3311Os Tambores de Minas3:1912Biromes y Servilletas5:24's family announced that he had been diagnosed with Lewy body dementia.

Awards and recognition

Latin Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award (2012)
Honorary Doctorate of Music, awarded by Berklee College of Music (2016)