Mauricio Maestro

Mauricio Maestro is a Brazilian arranger, producer, songwriter, singer, and guitartist. He is the founder of <a href="spotify:artist:360FjbxByY4XLqXrZ6cWGF">Boca Livre</a>, one of Brazil's most beloved -- and long-standing -- vocal groups. He was a member of charting vocal quartet Momentoquatro during the 1960s, and in the early 1970s led Paulo, Cláudio & Maurício, who also backed <a href="spotify:artist:5I0EPnV9gwrZYTbScjnaOk">Marcos Valle</a> on the fusion album Vento Sul.

Further, Maestro was an integral part of <a href="spotify:artist:3Bnq7jiU506HcPjRgQ43TM">Milton Nascimento</a>'s Clube da Esquina scene. He has served as bassist on many of <a href="spotify:artist:5644bJMU3NkJN0edhyHV3v">Joyce</a>'s recordings. In 1976, a trio composed of the pair and percussionist/vocalist <a href="spotify:artist:6P6IXsZWyS49AUbhGCvvLK">Nana Vasconcelos</a> recorded Visions of Dawn. Now considered a classic, it went unreleased until 2009. <a href="spotify:artist:360FjbxByY4XLqXrZ6cWGF">Boca Livre</a> issued their eponymous debut in 1978. After issuing Bicicleta in 1980, they signed to <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Philips%22">Philips</a> for 1981's Folia. The label re-released their debut in 1983.

<a href="spotify:artist:360FjbxByY4XLqXrZ6cWGF">Boca Livre</a> claimed most of Maestro's time through the 1990s with releases such as 1992's Dançando Pelas Sombras, 1994's Americana, and 2001's Nossos Cantos, which was co-billed to <a href="spotify:artist:5644bJMU3NkJN0edhyHV3v">Joyce</a>. Noetheless, Maestro managed to compose and arrange for top-shelf artists including <a href="spotify:artist:5WQw86oZtrTc4nUfagqpcU">Vinicius Cantuaria</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:711jiuncRxXqipe8gTn0L0">Ricardo Vilas</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:5644bJMU3NkJN0edhyHV3v">Joyce</a>, and <a href="spotify:artist:2CV1vj08wUVXTAMs2Ho35r">Jon Lucien</a>. His composition "Misterios" has been covered by several artists, including <a href="spotify:artist:3Q4xYZ2ZuFaAsZZyjPIfc8">Till Bronner</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:2SfO2W7dVwEov6TpQW2uOg">Wallace Roney</a>. In 2010, Maestro and <a href="spotify:artist:6P6IXsZWyS49AUbhGCvvLK">Vasconcelos</a> recorded and released Upside Down thru <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Far+Out+Recordings%22">Far Out Recordings</a>. The 11-song set offered their subjective acoustic overview of the tropicalia and the acid folk scenes of the 1970s; it won global acclaim.

In 2013, Maestro appeared on <a href="spotify:artist:6P6IXsZWyS49AUbhGCvvLK">Vasconcelos</a>'s 4 Elementos, the final album under the percussionist's name; he died in 2016. That same year, <a href="spotify:artist:360FjbxByY4XLqXrZ6cWGF">Boca Livre</a>'s tenth album, Amizade, won praise and industry awards. The group followed it with Viola De Bem Querer in 2019.

2022 saw the release of Natureza, a 1977 New York City session co-billed to Moreno and Maestro, with German producer/arranger <a href="spotify:artist:3lZyF2ZG6fZLQvxgJU0y5r">Claus Ogerman</a>, an all-star jazz quintet that included <a href="spotify:artist:0pSoLnWrkv4lvm0CBl526G">Buster Williams</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:5IkynsVZoak9UR2Xt8qsMj">Michael Brecker</a>, and an orchestra. Long thought lost, only two of its seven tracks appeared on compilations in finished form. The remainig five tracks sat unmixed in Moreno's tape vault for 45 years. After painstaking restoration, these tapes were paired with the finished tracks and released by <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Far+Out%22">Far Out</a>. ~ Thom Jurek, Rovi