At the age 85, he is one of the last living remnants of that group of brilliant artists who, in the late 1950s, created Nossa Nova.

Instrumentalist, composer, singer and producer, Menescal is one of the pioneers of bossa nova in the 60s. Recognised for his importance and contribution to music, he is the recipient of the Latin Grammy Award for Musical Excellence.

Raised in Rio de Janeiro, Roberto Batalha Menescal was born in the city of Vitória on 25 October 1937. His contact with music began under the influence of his family in 1950, when he started studying piano. A few years later, he was given an accordion, which he learnt to play on his own, until he moved on to the guitar – the main instrument in Menescal’s career.

To hone his skills, his teachers included Edinho from Trio Irakitan, Guerra Peixe and Moacir Santos, with whom he took classes and learnt more about theory, harmony and counterpoint.

THE CAREER

Making his professional music debut at the age of 18, he accompanied singer Sylvinha Telles on her tour of Brazil at the start of her career.

He taught guitar at a music academy he opened with his friend and musician Carlos Lyra. There he met Nara Leão, who went from student to friend and partner in major collaborations.

He made a name for himself as a composer and was, alongside the likes of Carlos Lyra, Tom Jobim and Ronaldo Bôscoli, one of the forerunners of bossa nova. Among his greatest hits were the songs: ‘O Barquinho’, ‘Você’, ‘Nós e o Mar’, ‘Bye, bye Brasil’ and ‘Telefone’.

He was one of the organisers of the first bossa nova concert held at the Hebraico University Group and also of the 1st Samba-Session Festival, taking part with the Roberto Menescal Ensemble. The festival was also attended by musicians such as Vinícius de Moraes, Dorival Caymmi, Aracy de Almeida and Billy Blanco.

INTERNATIONAL

With his compositions, Menescal helped raise Brazil’s profile around the world, especially in Japan. In 1962, Menescal took part in the famous Bossa Nova Concert at Carnegie Hall in New York, alongside the likes of Tom Jobim, Carlos Lyra and João Gilberto, marking the official entry of bossa nova abroad.

In 1968, he performed with Elis Regina in Cannes at the International Disc and Music Publishers Market (Midem).

With the group Bossacucanova, celebrating the release of ‘Bossacucanova meets Menescal’, he toured the United States, Europe and Japan to audiences of up to 200,000 people. He has also toured Singapore, Australia, Russia, Paris, London, Japan, Argentina, Spain, Germany and many other countries.

He released the DVD United Kingdom of Ipanema with Andy Summers, from the legendary The Police, and has recorded with the likes of Paul Winter, Toots Thielemans and Herbie Mann.

THE PRODUCER

Menescal was also artistic director of Polygram/Philips for 15 years, during which time he released and worked with artists from all strands of MPB, such as Fábio Junior, Alcione, Emílio Santiago, Fagner, Maria Betânia, Gal Costa and Fagner.

At the end of the 1980s, he founded his own label, Albatroz Discos, where he has been producing albums for the Brazilian and international markets ever since.

COLLABORATIONS

Composer of more than 400 songs, 30 LPs and CDs recorded and 10 DVDs, Roberto Menescal’s career includes many collaborations – whether on stage, as a composer or producer.

Among the names:

Sylvinha Telles, Maysa, Elis Regina, Wanda Sá, Marcos Valle, Joyce, Carlos Lyra, João Donato, Celso Fonseca, Dori Caymmi, Leila Pinheiro, Bossacucanova, Paul Winter, Toots Thielemans, Herbie Mann, Andy Summers (The Police), Cris Delanno, Vinícius de Moraes, Aracy de Almeida, Billy Blanco, Ronaldo Bôscoli, Alaíde Costa, Eliane Elias, Os Cariocas, Tereza Cristina, Oswaldo Montenegro, Alcione, Emilio Santiago, the BeBossa group, Fernanda Takai, Erasmo Carlos, Caetano Veloso, Gal Costa, Gilberto Gil, Chico Buarque, Nara Leão, Maria Bethânia and Jorge Benjor and many others.

PUBLICATIONS, TV AND CINEMA

Roberto Menescal also has a number of books in his honour, such as the Songbook ‘O melhor de Roberto Menescal’ (Ed. Irmãos Vitale) and ‘Roberto Menescal – Play Along Música Brasileira’ (Ed. Souza Lima) and the books: ‘Roberto Menescal’ (Ed. Estácio de Sá), ‘O barquinho vai – Roberto Menescal e suas histórias’ (Bruna Fontes/Ed Irmãos Vitale) and ‘Essa tal de Bossa Nova (Bruna Fontes/Ed. Prumo).

In the field of cinema, he played the lead role alongside composer Carlos Lyra in the documentary ‘Coisa Mais Linda’ (Paulo Tiago). Also in cinema, he has collaborated on the soundtrack for films including: Joana Francesa, Bye Bye Brasil and Sabor da Paixão.

On television, Menescal devised and took part in programmes such as ‘Letras Brasileiras’, on Canal Brasil, alongside Oswaldo Montenegro, and appeared in the musical series produced by Canal Brasil, ‘RIO+BOSSA’, with singer Verônica Sabino, which described Rio de Janeiro through songs. Also on TV, he took part as a guest judge on TV Globo’s Popstar programme.