Marisa Monte

Marisa de Azevedo Monte (Brazilian Portuguese: [maˈɾizɐ dʒ(i) azeˈvedu ˈmõtʃi]; born 1 July 1967) is a Brazilian singer, composer, instrumentalist, and record producer of Brazilian popular music and samba. As of 2011, she had sold 10 million albums worldwide and has won numerous national and international awards, including four Latin Grammys, eight Brazilian Music Awards, seven Brazilian MTV Video Music Awards, nine Multishow de Música Brasileira awards, and 5 APCAs. Marisa is considered by Rolling Stone Brasil to be the second greatest singer, behind only Elis Regina. She also has two albums (MM and Verde, Anil, Amarelo, Cor-de-Rosa e Carvão) on the list of the 100 best albums of Brazilian music.

Biography

Monte was born in Rio de Janeiro, daughter of the engineer Carlos Saboia Monte and Sylvia Marques de Azevedo Monte. On her father's side, she is descended from the Saboias, one of the oldest Italian families in Brazil. She studied singing, piano, and drums as a child, and began studying opera singing at 14.

At the age of 19, Monte went to Italy to study bel canto, while also performing Brazilian music in bars and clubs, leading her to meet famous producer Nelson Motta. Upon her return to Rio in 1987, Motta produced her live concert, where Monte became a hybrid of MPB diva and pop rock performer. While most of her music is in the style of modern MPB, she has also recorded traditional samba and folk tunes, largely in collaboration with such musicians and songwriters as Carlinhos Brown, Arnaldo Antunes, and Nando Reis and producer Arto Lindsay. She has also collaborated with the New York pop music vanguard, including Laurie Anderson, David Byrne, Marc Ribot, Bernie Worrell and Philip Glass.