Rio de Janeiro, Brazil · MPB · brazilian jazz

Arthur Verocai

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His 1972 self-titled record flopped, got sampled to death decades later, and turned him into a live legend — orchestral Brazilian soul performed with a full string section.

Arthur Verocai was born in Rio de Janeiro on June 17, 1945, and trained as a civil engineer before turning to music. After graduating in 1968 he began arranging under the mentorship of Roberto Menescal, working with artists including Jorge Ben, Gal Costa, Elis Regina, Ivan Lins and Marcos Valle.

His self-titled 1972 album, which he described as "samba mixed with soul," drew on bossa nova composers such as Tom Jobim as much as on jazz figures like Miles Davis and Bill Evans, classical writers Debussy and Villa-Lobos, and American acts including Chicago and Frank Zappa. It stood apart from the Brazilian soul sound Tim Maia was popularizing at the time.

The record sold poorly on release, and Verocai stopped composing for around thirty years, working instead as an arranger and writing jingles for advertising. In the 2000s the album built a cult following abroad, with original vinyl copies changing hands for as much as £2,000, and hip-hop producers began sampling it, drawing new listeners to the record.

The renewed interest brought Verocai back to writing, and he released Encore in 2007. In 2009 he performed the 1972 album live for the first time, backed by a thirty-piece orchestra at California State University's Luckman Theater in Los Angeles. A further album, No Vôo do Urubu, followed in 2016, alongside collaborations with acts including BadBadNotGood, Hiatus Kaiyote and Gal Costa.

His records have been cited as an influence by TV on the Radio, Cut Chemist and Madlib, and sampled directly by artists including Ludacris, Curren$y, Action Bronson and Marcelo D2, spreading the album's reputation well beyond Brazil.

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