BIOGRAPHY
It is impossible to write the history of Brazilian music from the 90´s without touching often in the name of Jorge Luiz Sant'anna Vercillo, or simply Jorge Vercillo, this is how this singer, songwriter and Carioca musician born on October 11th, 1968, is known to millions of Brazilians. We just list the connections of this multi-talented artist to realize his influence on Brazilian music. Vercillo has made successive national hits on the radio and on the soundtracks of Brazilian soap operas since the 90´s - in successful climbing intensified in 1999, the singer has released his third album, “Leve”, an album that catapulted him to national stardom - is the same artist who signed equally a CD / DVD with Jorge Aragão, Jorge Ben Jor and Jorge Mautner. He is a versatile composer - skilled at making as much of a pop ballad as a samba or even a xote - turned composers partner generations and different styles such as Ana Carolina and Marcos Valle. And in the year of 2013 he launched the 12th official title of his solo discography, the CD and DVD “Luar de Sol” - Live in Ceará (Posto 9 / Microservice). With this work, the artist launches another success, “Face de Narciso”, in partnership with Jota Maranhão, which has propagated since March on the soundtrack of the Brazilian soap opera Flor do Caribe (TV Globo, 2013), he also sings with Fagner and interacts with artists from Ceará, Brazil from the capture made under the direction of Darcy Bürger - the show performed in September 2012 at Theatro José de Alencar, in Fortaleza (CE).
The album “Leve” illuminates another recording work facet that now it totals nine studio albums, three live record concerts- released on CD and DVD - and the split album with the other three Jorge`s, as well as two collections (especially compilation edited by Som Livre in his series Perfil). His monumental work has already sold two million-selling albums and has earned Vercillo one-platinum, three gold records and two Latin Grammy nominations (in 2007 and 2009). Not to mention the immeasurable satisfaction of hearing his music in the voices of devoted singers such as Ana Carolina, Caetano Veloso, Leila Pinheiro and Maria Bethania, among many others. The first album, “Encontro das Aguás”, was launched in 1993 by the now defunct Continental label. And so, with a success after another, they have passed not ten, as the letter of the popular bolero, but 20 years. However, the musical story of Jorge Vercillo began, strictly speaking, in the first half of the 80´s when, at age 15, the then newcomer singer came on the scene in the bars of Rio's nightlife, field taking the already insinuated footballer promising. The experience as an evening singer prepared the young artist for bigger jumps. The first was given in 1989 and 1990, years in which Vercillo represented Brazil at the International Festival of Curacao (Dutch island territory which has the autonomy of a country) and won the competition in these two consecutive years.
The first victory was won with a song of his own, “Alegre”, who was to open the singer´s first album, the above-mentioned “Encontro das Águas”. The second victory came with “No bay”, theme sung in the native language of Curacao. Produced by Renato Correa, the album “Encontro das Águas” enabled Vercillo´s voice to begin to emerge on a national scale. In partnership with the composer Jota Maranhão, the title song “Encontro das Águas” was conveyed to the soundtrack of Brazilian soap opera “Mulheres de Areia” (TV Globo, 1993). Following that, the tracks “Praia Nua” – the last song of the album and also it was Vercillo´s authoring only - entered the soundtrack of soap opera “Tropicaliente”, both from TV Globo. In the current success of the album “Encontro das Águas”, Jorge Vercillo released in 1996 his second album,”Em tudo que é belo”, a completely original and authorial work in which the artist began to temper his sound with touches of world music. It is the album in which Paulo Cesar Feital joins the select artist´s collaboration team, signing with Vercillo the tracks “Himalayas” and “Oração Yehoshua”. It is also the album of the track “Fácil de Entender”.
Even though it hasn´t turned out to be a great popular success, the album “Em tudo que é belo” has consolidated the style and personality of Jorge Vercillo´s music, rendering the artist in 1997, the nomination to the Sharp Award (now Prize of Brazilian Music) for Best Pop Singer. In 1998, the year that the country duo Chrystian & Ralf recorded Vercillo´s authored song hit “Sensível Demais” that would only be recorded by the composer in 2011.
While disconnecting from Continental label, reduced range label in Vercillo´s segment, the singer left for an independent production. This production was the album “Leve”. Launched in 1999, “Leve” was so successful on the indie scene, ironically, led the artist to the mainstream recording industry. The song that propelled the repercussions of the album “Leve” was the track “Final Feliz”, Vercillo´s authoring song in which the singer recorded a duet with none other than the acclaimed singer Djavan. It was an elegant and subtle response to those identified traces of Djavan´s work in the artist´s music. “Final Feliz” was later on recorded on the voice of Caetano Veloso, a duet made with Alexandre Pires for the group “Só pra Contrariar” DVD. “Leve” added another partner to Vercillo´s team. It is Zeppa, the co- composer of the title song “Leve” and co-author of the song “Em órbita”. Another novelty of the album was the rewriting of the song “Beatriz”, a song that Edu Lobo and Chico Buarque had composed for the soundtrack of the ballet “ O grande circo místico”(1983). By the way, “Leve” was the first album in which Vercillo has allowed himself to play songs of other composers, showing that, in addition to his own authorial work he was also a skilled interpreter of accurate interpretation of other authors´ songs. “Leve” was Vercillo´s entry passport to the multinational label EMI Music. As the success of the album spread throughout the year 2000, the singer - not afraid to take chances – bankrolled his presentation at Canecão, the extinct venue of Rio de Janeiro (RJ) which was the main barometer of the popularity of an artist in Brazil.
As the public packed the venue to see Vercillo, the music industry has awakened to the success of the singer, leaving to EMI to sign up a contract with the artist.
The new edition of the album “Leve” by the multinational label was the first effect of the contract. In 2002, when Jorge Vercillo´s fourth album entitled as “Elo”, the first recorded by EMI Music - was released, the singer was already a national star, known from north to south of Brazil. Popularity expanded with the instant success of the first track elected to promote the album “Elo”, the track “Que nem Maré”, a pop song that would become the most played song in the country that year of 2002. In the wake of the bursting of “Que nem Maré”, the album spawned another hit on the radio , “Homem Aranha”. As a result, already in 2003, a third track from the album “Elo” became known in Brazil through the miniseries “Acasa das Sete mulheres”, aired by TV Globo.
This is “Fênix”, a more introspective ballad that opened Vercillo´s partnership with singer and songwriter Flavio Venturini . “Fênix”is still an assigned and applauded number at Vercillo´s concerts. The tide was even for Jorge Vercillo. Even the song that he baptized in 1993 on his debut album,”Encontro das águas”, emerged and returned to the top hits after the rewriting of the song recorded by Vercillo alongside with Jorge Aragão for his samba DVD. In 2003, Jorge Vercillo released his fifth studio album, “Livre”, released on CD and also in DVD format. The digital video also featured the album´s recording - produced by Vercillo and Paul Calasans - and brought interviews with the artist. Following the success of “Que nem Maré”, the track “Monalisa” reached the top of the radio hits and also became one of Vercillo´s national hits. As usual, the artist showcased in his album “Leve” essentially authorial repertoire, showing that his work as a singer is closely associated with his production as a composer. Anyhow, the artist also exercised himself as an interpreter of other people's works in 2004, the year that Vercillo recorded as a special guest for Ivan Lins` DVDs (track “Guarde os Olhos”) and or Pepeu Gomes (track “Deusa do Amor”).
That same year, the artist met the singer and composer Marcos Valle, therefore starting a partnership with this icon of Bossa Nova. The resulting music of the meeting, “Pela ciclovia”, featured Leila Pinheiro´s voice on the CD entitled “Nos horizontes do Mundo” (2005). “Signo de Ar” was the original album title released by Jorge Vercillo in 2005. It was a more pop work in which the composer remained faithful to his original repertoire, but he allowed himself to expand his range of musical partnership. Vercillo voiced in “Signo de Ar” the songs made with new partners such as Ana Carolina (“Abismo” and “Ultra-leve amor”), Dudu Falcão (“Ciclo” and “Melhor lugar”), Nico Rezende (the CD's title track, “Signo de Ar”) and Torcuato Mariano (“Mandala”). These changes contributed to renew Jorge Vercillo´s repertoire and have been well welcomed by the artist´s audience. So much so that in 2006 Vercillo received the Tim Prize (now called the Brazilian Music Award) for Best Singer Elected by Popular Vote. It was also in this year of 2006 that the singer did, after all, his first recording of a live show to DVD editing and live CD, this was then already highly valued in the music business which happened to be guided by audiovisual products. Recorded live at the late venue Canecão in Rio de Janeiro (RJ), Jorge Vercilo Live worked like a best of the copyright of the artist's work, but it also showcased a new song, “Eu e a Vida”, orchestrated by pianist Luiz Avellar. Ana Carolina, Marcos Valle and Leila Pinheiro appear as guests on the DVD. In 2007, the year which Vercillo received his second Tim Award for Best Singer Elected by Popular Vote, the artist has released two albums. The first was the recording concert made in tribute to St. George on April 23, 2007, at Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro (RJ). Vercillo shared the stage with three other Jorges - Aragão, Ben Jor and Mautner - an immortalized concert that was featured on the CD and DVD “Coisa de Jorge”, pulled on the radio by unprecedented composition made by Vercillo in partnership with Aragão and Ben, “Líder dos Templários”, in tribute to the Holy Warrior .
The album “Leve” illuminates another recording work facet that now it totals nine studio albums, three live record concerts- released on CD and DVD - and the split album with the other three Jorge`s, as well as two collections (especially compilation edited by Som Livre in his series Perfil). His monumental work has already sold two million-selling albums and has earned Vercillo one-platinum, three gold records and two Latin Grammy nominations (in 2007 and 2009). Not to mention the immeasurable satisfaction of hearing his music in the voices of devoted singers such as Ana Carolina, Caetano Veloso, Leila Pinheiro and Maria Bethania, among many others. The first album, “Encontro das Aguás”, was launched in 1993 by the now defunct Continental label. And so, with a success after another, they have passed not ten, as the letter of the popular bolero, but 20 years. However, the musical story of Jorge Vercillo began, strictly speaking, in the first half of the 80´s when, at age 15, the then newcomer singer came on the scene in the bars of Rio's nightlife, field taking the already insinuated footballer promising. The experience as an evening singer prepared the young artist for bigger jumps. The first was given in 1989 and 1990, years in which Vercillo represented Brazil at the International Festival of Curacao (Dutch island territory which has the autonomy of a country) and won the competition in these two consecutive years.
In 2007, at the end of the year, Vercillo presents his seventh authorial album “Todos nós somos um”, an album with a humanistic tone which the artist deepened his work, full-bodied with Brazilian accent. A very renewing album, “Todos nós somos um” opened a cycle of new partnerships for the artist's work, featuring the track “Cartilha”, a dense song that featured the first track of the new album. It was the first collaboration between Vercillo and Fatima Guedes, an author of passionate verses. Packed with strings, the songs “Deve ser” and “Devaneio”also followed a dense trail. “Camafeu guerreiro”, a stylized ballad that ended on trampled chorus in ijexá rhythm exemplified the Brazilianness that punctuated the album. It was pulled by the ballad “Ela une todas as coisas”, composed by Vercillo in collaboration with Jota Maranhão. Among the sambas (“Toda espera” and “Tudo que eu tenho”), the bucolic tune (the same “Luar de Sol” would be revived as the title song of the CD / DVD recorded in Ceará in 2012 and released in 2013) and “ Xote do Polytheama” (recorded with Guinga´s voice and guitar), Vercillo presented in “Todos nós somos um” his second collaboration with Marcos Valle, the track “Numa corrente de verão”, a Sambossa(Samba with Bossa Nova) which moves in the same pop track as “Pela ciclovia”, first song the pair recorded together. In April 2008, Vercillo hit the road with the tour “Todos nós somos um”, captured on October 31st and November, 1st at Canecão in Rio de Janeiro, same place where the singer debuted his national tour. The live recording gave rise in 2009 to the CD and DVD “Trem da minha vida- Live”, the artist´s second s recording concert. In the DVD, Vercillo welcomed as guests his musical partners Dudu Falcão (in the song “Coisas que eu sei”), Jota Maranhão (the samba “Filosofia deAmor”), and singer Sergio Moah (of the gaucho group Papas da Língua), São Jorges´guests. The new song title “Trem da minha vida” was a reggae composed by the singer. Also in 2009, Vercillo made his train go the other rail. The singer resigned amicably from the label company EMI Music - in which he had joined in 2000 - and signed to Sony Music in January 2010. His concerts were then been booked by the agency Day 1, a company associated with the label.
The first and only album released with the new label was called D.N.A, it was released in April 2010.
In his eighth studio album, promoted on the radio with the songs "Me transformo em luar” and "Arco-íris" in duo and in collaboration with the worshiped Jazz musician Filo Machado, Vercillo also had the privilege to sing with Milton Nascimento (in "Há de ser”) and to project the singer Ninah Joh at the primetime of Globo soap operas as vocal participation of the ballad-jazzy "Memória do prazer” song that also launchs a partnership with his wife Gabriela Vercillo. In the wake of the release of the album DNA, Vercillo initiated a national tour that ran Brazil from May 2010 to July 2011, the year in which the singer began recording his ninth studio album, “Como diria Blavatsky”, a title that refers to the Russian writer of the 19th century, Helena Blavatsky (1831-1891). “Como diria Blavatsky” went on sale in October 2011 and its cover evokes the occult symbols of science and it was distributed by Microservice, a factory that has partnered with Posto 9, the company that went on to manage Vercillo´s career since then. The author's unpublished repertoire of "Como diria Blavatsky" includes sambas as "Ventou- Ventou” and “Invictor” (the latter named after his youngest son, Victor Vercillo), his jazz vein brings the reflective "Rio Delírio" the baiao- pop "Acendou" in collaboration with Dudu Falcao, made in honour of Fernando de Noronha Archipelago and other surprises that are always present in his albums. Premiered in October 2011 in Rio de Janeiro (RJ), the show “Como diria Blavatsky” was the starting point for Vercillo´s new national tour, written and directed by the broadcast channel Canal Brasil in Fortaleza. “Face de Narciso” - theme propagated in the year of 2013 on the soundtrack of the soap opera “Flor do Caribe” - it is the song that propels “Luar de Sol - Live in Ceará”, CD / DVD that illuminates another side of the artist´s work in constant progress.