Marisa de Azevedo Monte is a Brazilian singer, composer, instrumentalist, and producer of Brazilian popular music and samba. As of 2011, she had sold 10 million albums worldwide and has won numerous national and international awards, including four Latin Grammys, seven Brazilian MTV Video Music Awards, nine Multishow de Música Brasileira awards, 5 APCAs, and six Prêmio TIM de Música. Marisa is considered by Rolling Stone Brasil to be the second greatest singer, behind only Elis Regina. She also has two albums on the list of the 100 best albums of Brazilian music.
Biography
Monte was born in Rio de Janeiro, daughter of the engineer Carlos Saboia Monte and Sylvia Marques de Azevedo Monte. On her father's side, she is descended from the Saboias, one of the oldest Italian families in Brazil. She studied singing, piano, and drums as a child, and began studying opera singing at 14. After failing to break through into 1980s Brazilian pop rock she went into semi-exile in Italy, where she met the famous producer Nelson Motta. Thereafter she became a hybrid of MPBdiva and pop rock performer. While most of her music is in the style of modern MPB, she has also recorded traditional samba and folk tunes, largely in collaboration with such musicians and songwriters as Carlinhos Brown, Arnaldo Antunes, and Nando Reis and producer Arto Lindsay. She has also collaborated with the New Yorkpop music vanguard, including Laurie Anderson, David Byrne, Marc Ribot, Bernie Worrell and Philip Glass.
1987–1990: Beginnings and first album
Aged 19, she moved to Rome, where she studied bel canto for 10 months. After that, she began appearing in bars and nightclubs singing Brazilian music, accompanied by friends. One of these shows was attended by the producer Nelson Motta, who directed her first show in Rio de Janeiro upon her return. The Veludo Azul show had seasons in Rio and São Paulo, and caught the attention of record companies. Monte was invited to record her first special by the television program TV Manchete, which was called MM, and released on LP and VHS. Her first big hit appeared on this album, "Bem Que Se Quis". Her hit was played exhaustively on Brazilian radio stations, and was included on the soundtrack of Lauro César Muniz's soap opera O Salvador de Pátria on the Globo network. The soundtrack sold 500 thousand copies and is No. 62 on the list of 100 greatest Brazilian music albums.
1991–1996: Artistic development
In 1991, Marisa Monte released her second album, titled Mais, on EMI. This album produced the hit "Beija Eu", considered one of the best MPB songs, coming in at the 26th position, in a study published by journalist Zeca Camargo on Portal G1. In 1994, she released her third album, Verde, Anil, Amarelo, Cor-de-Rosa e Carvão. This album is on the list of the 100 best albums of Brazilian music, in position No. 87.
2000–2001: Consolidated musical career
In 2000, she released Memórias, Crônicas, e Declaracões de Amor, which was followed by a DVD of the same name in 2001, being a recording of her performances over three nights at the ATL Hall, in Rio de Janeiro. In 2011, she contributed a collaboration with Devendra Banhart and Rodrigo Amarante "Nú Com A Minha Música" for the Red Hot Organization's most recent charitable album Red Hot+Rio 2, a follow-up to the 1996 Red Hot+Rio. On 12 August 2012, at the London 2012 Summer Olympics closing ceremony, Monte was the first Brazilian singer performing during Rio de Janeiro's side of the Olympic Flag handover – she initially sang the classical Brazilian piece "Bachianas Brasileiras No. 5", representing Brazilian folklore's Yemanjá deity. She later sang, alongside Brazilian performers :pt:BNegão|BNegão and Seu Jorge, the samba "Aquele Abraço", translated as "That embrace", closing Rio's presentation for the occasion while Pelé was revealed to be present at the ceremony, disguised as Rio's traditional "Malandro do Morro". Monte owns the rights to all of her songs; it was her chief demand for renewing her contract with EMI Music. She also released her single "Nao E Proibido", which was also used in the soundtrack of a video game by EA Sports, 2010 FIFA World CupSouth Africa.
