A roundup of great masterpieces and popular songs of Brazilian music

Caminhos das AguasMaria Rita

Caminho das águas – Maria Rita

Released in 2006, it was a hit song that topped the charts and won the Latin Grammy Awards for Best Album and Best Song, becoming very popular at the time.

It is a gentle and lighthearted piece that later became very famous in the jazz world.

Samba de Uma Nota SóAntonio Carlos Jobim

Samba De Uma Nota Só

This is a piece by Antônio Carlos Jobim, who is also famous for giving birth to bossa nova.

Its English title is One Note Samba, and as the name suggests, it simply repeats the same note to convey a samba rhythm.

Still, as you’d expect from Jobim, it’s crafted extremely well.

As an American standard, it has been sung and loved by many singers.

Fico Assim Sem VocêAdriana Calcanhotto

Adriana Calcanhotto – Fico Assim Sem Você (Video Clipe (Extras))

An intellectual figure representing the MPB scene, Adriana Calcanhotto created this irresistibly charming cover under her children’s music moniker.

The lyrics compare the loneliness of missing a loved one to a world where something essential has vanished from everyday life—simple yet profoundly moving.

Originally a track by a funk duo, it becomes an acoustic, warmly textured number through her lens.

Included on her 2004 album “Adriana Partimpim,” the song drew attention when its music video was nominated for a Brazilian music award in 2005.

Another cover version was also used on the children’s TV show “Carrossel.” It’s a song to play when you want to be wrapped in a gentle voice and a tender melody.

Beija EuMarisa Monte

Marisa Monte – Beija Eu

Marisa Monte freely traverses the traditions of Brazilian music and a contemporary pop sensibility.

Not only a singer but also an accomplished composer and producer, she has been hailed by Rolling Stone Brazil as “the most important living singer in the country.” Here, we introduce the opening track from her landmark album Mais, released in March 1991, which marked the full-fledged start of her career as a singer-songwriter.

The song, which expresses an intimate desire to gently ask a lover for a kiss, beautifully matches her whispery, translucent vocals with a subtly complex, shimmering rhythm.

Produced by Arto Lindsay and featuring contributions from Ryuichi Sakamoto, the album offers an urban, sophisticated sound that is irresistibly pleasing.

It went on to sell over 710,000 copies, cementing her reputation.

Samba de OrlyChico Buarque

Samba de Orly – Toquinho & Vinícius

A classic samba composed by Toquinho & Vinícius.

It was included on the 1971 album Construção.

The song is said to criticize Brazil’s military regime at the time, and its lyrics are based on words entrusted by a Brazilian friend who visited Chico Buarque—then in exile in Europe—at Orly Airport in France, which is referenced in the title.