Germano Mathias (2 June 1934 – 22 February 2023) was a Brazilian singer-songwriter and composer, who specialized in sambas. He was nicknamed the "Catedrático do Samba" ("the Samba Cathedratic").

Germano Mathias
Mathias in 2010
Born2 June 1934 (1934-06-02)
Died22 February 2023 (2023-02-23) (aged 88)

Life and career

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Born in São Paulo, the son of two Portuguese immigrants, Mathias studied drums at the Rosas Negras School of Samba.[1] He started his career as a musician in 1955, winning a 14-month contract with Radio Tupi in the radio contest for new music artists "À procura de um astro" ("Looking for a star").[1][2] Following his first hit "Minha nega na janela",[2] in a few years he got a significant success both as a singer and as a composer, but his popularity declined with the arrival of rock and other musical genres, up to the point he temporarily left his musical activities to work as a justice officer.[1] His career eventually had a resurgence in the late 1970s, when Gilberto Gil recorded several songs composed by him, leading to many of his previous works to be rediscovered and re-released.[1][2]

Mathias' last album was Tributo a Caco Velho, released in 2004.[1] In 2021, the tribute album #PartiuZePelintra – Tributo a Germano Mathias was released, with some of his songs performed by prominent artists including Gilberto Gil, Fafá de Belém, Zélia Duncan and Leila Pinheiro.[2]

Mathias died from complications of pneumonia on 22 February 2023, at the age of 88.[1] At the time of his death he was preparing a new album, 67 anos de samba-tradição.[3]

Discography

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Albums
  • 1957 - Germano Matias, o sambista diferente
  • 1958 - Em continência do samba
  • 1959 - Hoje tem batucada
  • 1962 - Ginga no asfalto
  • 1965 - Samba de branco
  • 1968 - O Catedrático do Samba
  • 1970 - 1970 Sambas pra seu governo (with Demônios da Garoa)
  • 1971 - Samba é comigo mesmo
  • 1973 - O Catedrático do samba 2
  • 1999 - História do samba paulista (with Aldo Bueno, Thobias da Vai-Vai and Osvaldinho da Cuíca)
  • 2002 - MPB Especial
  • 2002 - Talento de bamba
  • 2004 - Tributo a Caco Velho

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f "Germano Mathias, o catedrático do samba, morre, aos 88 anos". R7.com (in Brazilian Portuguese). 22 February 2023. Retrieved 1 March 2023.
  2. ^ a b c d "Morre o sambista Germano Mathias, aos 88 anos". O Globo (in Brazilian Portuguese). 22 February 2023. Retrieved 1 March 2023.
  3. ^ "Cantor e sambista Germano Mathias morre aos 88 anos – Jovem Pan". Jovem Pan (in Brazilian Portuguese). 22 February 2023. Retrieved 1 March 2023.
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