Severino Dias de Oliveira – better known as Sivuca –, was a Brazilian musician, who achieved international notoriety at the peak of his career, having resided in Europe and the United states, at the height of his fame as a playfully skilled and versatile accordionist. He also played acoustic guitar, besides being a creative songwriter and a profoundly methodical arranger. A very eclectic musician, his genres of preference were mostly styles exclusive to Brazilian music, like choro, baião, frevo and forró, though he also played blues, jazz and classical music, amongst many other genres.
Sivuca was born in May 26, 1930, in Itabaiana, in the state of Paraíba, in northeast Brazil. When he was nine years old, his father gave him an accordion, and the passion for music was then rapidly developed. After some years – as soon as he started to improve his talents –, he began to attract attention locally. At fifteen years old, he became part of a radio station staff in Recife, capital of the state of Pernambuco, and at twenty-one years old, he recorded his first album. In the same year, Sivuca released a single in a partnership with musician Humberto Teixeira that became a national success.
With the firm resolution to consolidate a career in music, in 1955 Sivuca moved to Rio de Janeiro, then the capital and cultural center of Brazil. In the following year, he released another album, titled Motivo para Dançar. Then Sivuca toured Europe as part of a musical group called Os Brasileiros, and by the end of the decade, he started living in Europe, more precisely in Portugal and France.
Sivuca was born in May 26, 1930, in Itabaiana, in the state of Paraíba, in northeast Brazil. When he was nine years old, his father gave him an accordion, and the passion for music was then rapidly developed. After some years – as soon as he started to improve his talents –, he began to attract attention locally. At fifteen years old, he became part of a radio station staff in Recife, capital of the state of Pernambuco, and at twenty-one years old, he recorded his first album. In the same year, Sivuca released a single in a partnership with musician Humberto Teixeira that became a national success.
With the firm resolution to consolidate a career in music, in 1955 Sivuca moved to Rio de Janeiro, then the capital and cultural center of Brazil. In the following year, he released another album, titled Motivo para Dançar. Then Sivuca toured Europe as part of a musical group called Os Brasileiros, and by the end of the decade, he started living in Europe, more precisely in Portugal and France.
In this period, Sivuca’s international career started to ignite with cohesive intensity, and soon he became an artist sought by professional musicians to integrate their bands, as a composer, arranger and instrumentalist. His formidable degree of professionalism, competence and commitment impressed everybody who had the opportunity of working with him, and Sivuca started to build a solid reputation in the business. In the sixties, Sivuca moved to the United States, where he worked closely with South-African singer Zenzile Miriam Makeba, with whom he toured for several years, until the end of the decade. Sivuca lived in the United States for more than twelve years, until 1976. In the next decade, Sivuca worked in Scandinavia, with several jazz musicians.
When he returned to Brazil, Sivuca started to compose movie soundtracks, and participated heavily in the regional music scene, consolidating his reputation as a virtuous patrimony of Brazilian folk music. He was a widely active recording artist, having released more than thirty albums, in a career that spanned half a century, most of which was accompanied by his wife, 72 years old singer-songwriter Glória Gadelha, that participated in several of his musical projects, and currently works with her daughter to preserve Sivuca’s artistic legacy.
Sivuca died in December 14, 2006, at 76 years old. For sure, he will be deeply missed, but fortunately, his magnificent legacy survives, and his majestically creative and eclectic musical treasures remain, for the joy and amusement of folk music enthusiasts.
Wagner
When he returned to Brazil, Sivuca started to compose movie soundtracks, and participated heavily in the regional music scene, consolidating his reputation as a virtuous patrimony of Brazilian folk music. He was a widely active recording artist, having released more than thirty albums, in a career that spanned half a century, most of which was accompanied by his wife, 72 years old singer-songwriter Glória Gadelha, that participated in several of his musical projects, and currently works with her daughter to preserve Sivuca’s artistic legacy.
Sivuca died in December 14, 2006, at 76 years old. For sure, he will be deeply missed, but fortunately, his magnificent legacy survives, and his majestically creative and eclectic musical treasures remain, for the joy and amusement of folk music enthusiasts.
Wagner
