Belo Horizonte, BR · pop-rock

Jota Quest

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Mineiro pop-rock with a soul streak, three decades of radio staples built on Rogério Flausino's voice.

Formed in 1993 in Belo Horizonte as J. Quest, an idea from bassist PJ, the band renamed itself Jota Quest after a trademark dispute over its resemblance to the cartoon character Jonny Quest. The lineup settled around Rogério Flausino on vocals, Marco Túlio Lara on guitar, Márcio Buzelin on keyboards, PJ on bass and Paulinho Fonseca on drums, playing bars and schools around Belo Horizonte to crowds of over 2,000 before signing to Sony Music.

Writing leans on funk and soul as much as rock, with clipped rhythm guitar and bass carrying most songs, an approach evident from their first CD in August 1996, built around a cover of Hyldon's "As Dores do Mundo" and the disco-inflected "Encontrar Alguém." "Só Hoje," "Do Seu Lado" and "Fácil" followed, giving the band a run on Brazilian radio from the late 1990s onward.

Their second album, De Volta ao Planeta, pushed toward more conventional pop rock and produced "Fácil" as a signature song; its title track resurfaced on national radio in 2009 after appearing in the telenovela Caras & Bocas. A later album, Oxigênio, took an ecological, experimental turn, featuring Milton Nascimento and going platinum despite mixed reviews.

The band has kept a steady release and touring schedule since, selling more than four million records across Brazil, Latin America and Portugal, and has worked with figures from the Clube da Esquina tradition including Paulinho Pedra Azul, Milton Nascimento and 14 Bis, plus a single with Roberto Carlos. Live, they bring in a horn section on some dates and stretch the older singles out.

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pop-rock