Releases
João Orlando Junior, or simply João Junior, is from Passa Quatro, a small town in the south of Minas Gerais – (A state in central Brazil), but grew up on the asphalt of the streets of São Paulo City, so he declares that he makes a very urban music. The singer was introduced to music by his father João Orlando, a composer and trombonist. João Junior, at the age of twelve, began his career with studies in classical guitar and ended up embarking on the paths of popular music and, since the age of 17, he has been performing in nightclubs in São Paulo as a singer and guitarist. The artist, in addition to drinking from the sources of Tim Maia and Jorge Benjor, is influenced by Johnny Alf, João Gilberto, Al Jarreau and by masters of soul music such as Marvin Gaye and Cassiano. Jazz, soul music, bossa nova and black music of the 70s are therefore the ingredients of his work. João has a velvety voice full of swing and has great facility for improvisation. At the moment, he explores musical possibilities that will result in the style called Samba-rock, a beat invented by Benjor in the 70s and known as Sacundim Sacunden. This song, at the time of the Young Guard, became Jovem Samba and later, Sambala, and, some time later, it came to be called Samba-rock. João Junior works exactly at this moment in Brazilian popular music. It is with this swing beat that he has been setting the dancefloors on fire, as in a huge cauldron, mixing rhythms and styles, pointing out new paths for musical art in Brazil. In 1995 he participated in the CD Projeto Bixiga Baixo 13, with the track São Paulo, São Paulo of his authorship. The work was an independent production conceived by eight composers from the night of Bexiga, a neighborhood that is a stronghold of São Paulo’s nightlife where he had the pleasant opportunity to meet and play with Zé Ketti. He participated in the Demons of the Drizzle Week, at the CENTRO CULTURAL SÃO PAULO, performing with great success in 15 other shows by the SECRETARIAT OF CULTURE. They were concert openings for great names of MPB such as: Tom Zé, Jorge Mautner, Léo Gandelman, Marcos Vales, Tunai, Cláudio Nucci and Marcos Ariel. The musician had a special participation in the rap CD, by the band Doctor’s MC together with the famous band Sampa Crew, track “Zona Leste o lado bom” a success that shook the outskirts of the city of São Paulo in the 90s and still plays on the radio today. At the moment, the most successful tracks on the radio and black and samba rock dances are the songs: Queimar teu filme (Burn your film) by Douglas Magrão and partnership with João Junior, Pronto Socorro (Emergency Room), the latter of his authorship.