Lincoln Olivetti

A solid influence over Brazilian popular music in the 80's, arranger/producer Lincoln Olivetti helped substantially (in duo with his partner Robson Jorge) to shape the sound of, among other top-line artists, Tim Maia, Caetano Veloso, Jorge Ben, Gilberto Gil, Gal Costa, Rita Lee, Luís Melodia (who also recorded "Traição", by Olivetti, in his Pintando o Sete, 1991), Fagner (Amigos e Canções, 1998), Zizi Possi and Marina Lima (her first album, Simples Como Fogo). Olivetti also had enormous hits like "Rio Babilônia" (with Robson Jorge), and his compositions were included in the soundtracks of broadly popular soap-operas (like Baila Comigo, 1981). Celebrated for infusing soul music overtones in the country's productions, Olivetti's formula was so successful and influential that also was responsible for an excessive commercialism that ended up making many of the Brazilian releases in the 80's to sound like the same. In the next decade he was rediscovered and his musical qualities shone again in works like Ed Motta's Manual Prático para Festas, Bailes e Afins Vol. 1, with highlights for "Daqui pro Méier". A fundamental influence over the acclaimed producer Memê (Marcello Mansur), Olivetti wrote some of the string arrangements in Memê e Eles (1999). In 2001, after Universal refused Sandra de Sá's debut album in the recording company, a selection of Motown classics produced by Dudu Marote, Olivetti was summoned to realize the project. In the same year he also produced Rita Ribeiro's Comigo, made the arrangements for Nana Caymmi's Desejo and arranged the songs performed by Nana Caymmi, Daniela Mercury, Leila Pinheiro and The Women's Philharmonic at the Ibirapuera park (São Paulo). In 2002, Olivetti was responsible for the arrangements and conduction of the orchestra in Jorge Ben Jor's Acústico MTV. ~ Alvaro Neder, Rovi