Moacir Santos
Moacir Santos (26 July 1926 – 6 August 2006) was a Brazilian composer, multi-instrumentalist and music educator. Musicians such as Baden Powell, Bola Sete and Wilson das Neves studied under him. His music was highly respected by musicians in Brazil and the United States, despite never achieving wider recognition.
Moacir Santos
- Name
- Moacir Santos
- Born
- 26 July 1926
- Birthplace
- Flores do Pajeú, Pernambuco, Brazil
- Died
- 6 August 2006
- Place of death
- Pasadena, California, United States
- Nationality
- Brazil
- Occupation
- banjoist · saxophonist · composer · conductor · music arranger · singer
- Honours
- Order of Cultural Merit (Brazil)
- Languages
- Portuguese
VALÉORINE Encyclopedia
VALÉORINE documentary reading
Documentary summary
Moacir Santos (26 July 1926 – 6 August 2006) was a Brazilian composer, multi-instrumentalist and music educator. Musicians such as Baden Powell, Bola Sete and Wilson das Neves studied under him. His music was highly respected by musicians in Brazil and the United States, despite never achieving wider recognition.
Admitted source layer · organised and presented by VALÉORINE
Note VALÉORINE
No house-authored Note is published until its assertions and sources pass the VALÉORINE evidence contract. The documentary article remains available in full while that enrichment is being consolidated.
Documentary enrichment in progress · no unsupported statement published
Reference Check
Propose documentary evidence for Moacir Santos. A contribution is never written directly as fact: identity, source, rights and evidence gates still decide.
Sign in to contribute
Documentary evidence
Evidence Panel
not yet certified
- Identity
- unresolved
- Independent source families
- 0
- Admitted assertions
- 0
- Open conflicts
- 0
Authority files
wikidata · Q3317553 · wikipedia · Moacir Santos
In this article
Biography
Biography
Mark Levine, Anat Cohen, and Muiza Adnet have all released albums consisting entirely of Santos' music.
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Moacir Santos • Born — 26 July 1926 • Birthplace — Flores do Pajeú, Pernambuco, Brazil • Died — 6 August 2006 • Place of death — Pasadena, California, United States • Genre — Latin Jazz, Bossa Nova, MPB • Instrument — saxophone, banjo, guitar, mandolin, piano • Label — Forma, Blue Note, Universal, Adventure Music
Life and career
Life and career
Moacir Santos was born in Flores do Pajeú, Pernambuco in 1926. His mother died when he was two years old, and as his father had already left the family, he was taken in by another family. He grew up in poverty but his adoptive family assisted him with attending school and music lessons. By age 14, he could play the saxophone, banjo, guitar and mandolin. As a teenager, he played in the band of the Military Police of Paraíba and later became the band's conductor. He eventually ran away from home, becoming an itinerant musician moving around Pernambuco looking for employment and even, for a time, working in a travelling circus. By the 1950s, Santos was living in Rio de Janeiro and worked for Rádio Nacional as a composer. Recognising the artistic value of popular music, Santos began to study big-band composers, taking lessons from Hans-Joachim Koelreutter. Ultimately, he would become the radio station's music director. During the 1950s and 1960s, Santos privately taught a number of young Bossa Nova musicians such as Nara Leão, Baden Powell, Carlos Lyra and Roberto Menescal. In 1965, Santos released the album Coisas (translating to "things" in Portuguese) on the Forma record label. The album was a fusion of Afro-Brazilian rhythms and the sounds of big-band jazz. Although at the time the album did not garner much attention, it has gone on to receive praise with the New York Times describing it as "one of the great accomplishments of modern Brazilian music". Larry Blumenfeld, in The Village Voice, wrote that the album represented "the best of Brazilian jazz". After composing a number of scores for Brazilian films throughout the 1960s, Santos had the opportunity to move to the United States. In 1967, Santos and his wife, Cleonice, moved to Pasadena, California, with the intent of breaking into the film industry. He continued to give music lessons from his home, through which he met Horace Silver. Most of his work in Hollywood was uncredited, with Final Justice being his only film credit. Santos recorded three albums for Blue Note in the 1970s. His 1972 release, Maestro, was nominated for a Grammy award. Santos, however, did not receive the wider acclaim he sought and continued to write and teach music in Southern California. In 2001, fellow Brazilians Zé Nogueira and Mario Adnet arranged sessions to re-record some of Santos' compositions. These recordings would form the 2004 album Ouro Negro which featured performances from Milton Nascimento, Joao Donato and Gilberto Gil. The album revived Santos' reputation in Brazil and around the world. His final album, Choros & Alegria, was released in 2005. It was made up entirely of new material and featured a performance from Wynton Marsalis. In 2006, Santos died due to complications from an earlier stroke at an assisted living facility in Pasadena, California. Shortly before dying, Santos was awarded the Shell Music and Premio Tim awards.
As leader
As leader
• Coisas (Forma, 1965) • Maestro (Blue Note, 1972) • Saudade (Blue Note, 1974) • Carnival of the Spirits (Blue Note, 1975) • Opus 3 No. 1 (Discovery, 1979) • Ouro Negro (Universal, 2001) • Choros & Alegria (Adventure Music, 2005)
As sideman
As sideman
• Kenny Burrell, Both Feet on the Ground (Fantasy, 1973) • Kenny Burrell, Heritage (AudioSource, 1980) • Raul de Souza, Til Tomorrow Comes (Capitol, 1979) • Cass Elliot, Cass Elliot (RCA Victor, 1972) • Shelly Manne, Hot Coles (RCA Victor/Flying Dutchman, 1975) • Sergio Mendes, Sergio Mendes' Favorite Things (Atlantic, 1968) • Joao Nogueira, Boca Do Povo (Polydor, 1981) • Baden Powell, Baden Powell Swings with Jimmy Pratt (Elenco, 1963) • Benny Powell, Ya Betcha B.P.!! (Los Angeles Phonograph, 1979)
As musical arranger
As musical arranger
• Luiza,Luiza, (RCA Victor Brasil, 1964) • Vinicius de Moraes, Vinicius & Odette Lara, (Discos Elenco LTDA, 1963)
Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
The full dated record · 2 entries
1924
Moacir Santos born.
2006
Moacir Santos died at Pasadena.
References
Citations
References
Each reference names the institution holding it, so a reader may go to the document itself.
reference work
Partially resolvedreference work
Partially resolved
Further particulars
Held on the record
Further particulars
Open the remaining particulars
Moacir Santos is recorded as banjoist, saxophonist, composer, conductor and music arranger.
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 27 August 2026.
Elsewhere in Music memorabilia
42,438 published records in this field, each with its sources named.
- Mo CharaPerson
- Mo FosterPerson
- Mo' Hits RecordsOrganisation
- Mo' WaxOrganisation
- Moby Dick RecordsOrganisation
- Mocean WorkerPerson
- Mockingbird FoundationOrganisation
- MockyPerson
Best supported in this field
For owners
Own a work by Moacir Santos?
A specialist will read what you send and tell you what the house can establish, what it cannot, and whether the object is suited to sale. There is no charge and no obligation. The object stays with you throughout; nothing is shipped to us unless it is arranged in writing beforehand.