Brazil

27 de agosto de 1934

Perhaps the most talented Brazilian vocalist during the 1950s and '60s, Sylvia Telles preceded the advent of the bossa nova era but quickly became one of its biggest fans, praising with tributes the excellent songwriters Antonio Carlos Jobim and João Gilberto. Telles debuted in 1955, and covered her first Jobim tune just one year later. She also recorded with Luiz Bonfá, and produced a full LP of Jobim songs, Amor de Gente Moca. By the early '60s, she had made her first trip to America, recording U.S.A. with Barney Kessel (among others) for Philips. Her husband, producer Aloysio de Oliveira, proved instrumental in her later signing to Odeon and Elenco, two labels where he worked. Telles had just recorded her second tribute to Jobim, 1966's The Music of Mr. Jobim (or Sings the Wonderful Songs of Antonio Carlos Jobim), when she was tragically killed in a car accident. ~ John Bush