A remarkable Brazilian singer, songwriter, and guitarist, Milton Nascimento’s big break came in 1967 when three of his songs were entered by a friend (unbeknownst to him ) and showcased at the prestigious International Pop Song Festival in Rio de Janeiro. Immedietaly he was sought after by artists and labels and his first two albums ‘Travessia’ and ‘Milton Nascimento’ established him as a fresh new talent in Brazil. With his haunting falsetto and heavenly tonal range, his beautiful song ‘Coração de Estudante’, in memory of the student Edson Luís who was killed by police officers in 1968, became the hymn for the Diretas Já social-political campaign in 1984 and played at the funeral of racing driver Ayrton Senna. Milton’s international breakthrough came when he appeared alongside jazz saxophonist Wayne Shorter on the album ‘Native Dancer’ in 1974. He went on to collaborate with Paul Simon, Cat Stevens, George Duke, Quincy Jones and many more.
His album ‘Misa dos Quilombos’ made in 1982 was an oratory dedicated to the story of black people in Brazil, whi he claimed had been erased from Brazilian history, and his 1991 album ‘Txai’ highlighted the catastrophe of the ongoing destruction of the rain forest. Milton's unique sound has made him one of the world's sought after for collaborations by other great artists, engraving him in muiscal history, which is why we are honoured to hear the songs that are most dear to him...
1. MAS QUE NADA (Jorge Ben Jor)
"At the beginning of the 1960s, when I was still living in Três Pontas, southern Minas Gerais, Wagner Tiso's mother arrived with a Tamba Trio album that had a version of this song, with arrangements by Luiz Eça, and our friends didn’t show much interest, including Wagner, but I was already excited to listen. And when she put it on the jukebox, it lit up my life. "
2. RIDERS IN THE SKY (A Cowboy Legend)
"When I was a kid, I failed in singing at the school where I was studying. And I even changed schools after that, so when I went to retake the test in the new school I sang this song. After I sang the song, I looked at the teacher who was evaluating me and I saw that he was crying. That feeling of disapproval had finally ended "
3. THE LONG AND WINDING ROAD (THE BEATLES)
"This song is from Abbey Road. From the first time I heard it, at the time of its released in 1969, it mesmerised me. And every time I go to London I usually visit the famous Abbey Road Studios sidewalk, and it's that song I always remember. "
4. LEAVING THIS TOWN (THE BEACH BOYS)
"I was in the United States and I met Rick Fataar, a South African musician, and for him I wrote the piece "Song of America. " In one part of this song I speak of "a song I heard in America," and the song was this, Leaving This Town, recorded by the Beach Boys. But if I'm not mistaken this song belongs to my friend Rick. "
5. MARCHA DA quarta-feira DE CINZAS (VINICIUS DE MORAES)
"In 1962, when I arrived in Belo Horizonte, I had the opportunity to accompany Vinicius de Moraes on a talk show, where I played this song on the guitar for him. After the show, we went to a bar, and everyone asked me for the arrangement of that song, so I taught it to them, along with the harmony I had created. We sang and Vinicius joined along...it was beautiful, one night that ended at 10 o'clock the next day! "
6. TUA CANTIGA (Chico Buarque e Cristovão Bastos)
"This song was released on Chico Buarque's last album, 'Caravanas', and I was crazy about it. I consider it to be one of the greatest songs of all time."
