João Bosco Carries on After Loss of His Longtime Songwriting Partner

Among the many legendary musicians from Brazil, João Bosco stands out.

The 77-year-old singer-songwriter and guitarist's work has endured the decades, and he's showing no signs of slowing down, even with the recent loss of his longtime collaborator, Aldir Blanc, who died in 2020 from COVID-19.

"I think he is spiritually still with us," Bosco tells New Times from his home in Rio de Janeiro. "I think we are still together in some way. I believe it's impossible to have known someone like we did for 50 years and not to continue walking with him. It was not just music and lyrics, but it was like a form of fusion. We met by chance in 1970; we were introduced by a mutual friend. There is an expression in Arabic called maktrub, which means 'it is written.' On this record, there is a lyric he wrote years ago that I only recently set to music, and it speaks of his presence and his absence. There are ways to continue our paths together. So, we still talk, in a sense. It's a bit of Gabriel García Márquez — kind of a magical realism."

Bosco points to other famous collaborators, like Vinícius de Moraes, who famously wrote the Portuguese lyrics for the bossa-nova classic "The Girl From Ipanema" and worked closely with composer Tom Jobim and guitarist Baden Powell. "They all had very intense relationships, and that is how I see it," he adds.

His new album, Boca Cheia de Frutas (Mouth Full of Fruit), features original material co-written with his son, Francisco, along with some other fruitful collaborations, including the aforementioned contribution by the late Blanc, a cover of Chico Buarque and Milton Nascimento's "O Cio da Terra," and a track performed in Yanomami, the language of one of the several Native Brazilian tribes that live in the Amazon.

"Francisco Bosco knew someone who could find a member of the Yanomami who could translate this children's song, which I found on the internet and found very touching," he explains. "It turned out quite nicely. In fact, the album opener, called 'Dandara,' has a chorus of African inspiration, and the album closes with Native Brazilian sounds, and the middle of it is basically Brazil — a diverse country, a Brazil of music, a Brazil that is plural."

During his current U.S. tour, which also includes a stop at the Miami Beach Bandshell on Friday, May 31, he will be performing alongside his quartet, which is rounded out by Kiko Freitas on drums, Guto Wirtti on bass, and Ricardo Silveira on lead guitar. Fans can expect some material from the new album plus some of his timeless hits, such as "Papel Marchê," "Corsário," and "O Bêbado e o Equilibrista," a classic originally recorded by Elis Regina in 1979.

João Bosco Quartet. 8 p.m. Friday, May 31, at the Miami Beach Bandshell, 7275 Collins Ave., Miami Beach; miamibeachbandshell.com. Tickets cost $43.26 via dice.fm.