Jamelao - Ninety Years Of Samba (CD)

Jamelão (José Bispo Clementino dos Santos) was a Brazilian samba singer and songwriter. He became widely known as the official puxador (lead singer) of the samba-enredo for the samba school Estação Primeira de Mangueira, a role he assumed in 1949 and maintained for several decades during the parades of the Rio de Janeiro Carnival. His powerful vocal style became strongly associated with Mangueira’s samba-enredos and contributed to shaping the performance tradition of the genre.

In addition to his work at Carnival, Jamelão developed an extensive recording career from the 1950s onward, performing mainly samba and samba-canção repertoire. He recorded numerous albums dedicated to the works of composers such as Lupicínio Rodrigues, helping to popularize that composer’s songs with interpretations noted for their dramatic phrasing and expressive delivery. Before gaining recognition as a vocalist, Jamelão worked as a percussionist, including playing tamborim in samba groups. Over the course of his career he also composed songs within the samba tradition and collaborated with various musicians and composers connected to Rio de Janeiro’s samba scene.

His career spanned more than five decades, and he remained active in recordings and Carnival performances well into the 2000s, becoming one of the most recognizable voices associated with Mangueira and with the performance of samba-enredo in Brazil.

b.: May 12, 1913 - Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil
d.: June 14, 2008 - Rio de Janeiro, RJ Brazil

Source: Discogs