1924

Born in the countryside of Pernambuco (Norhteast), he started playing the clarinet at age 11. During the 1940s, he wroked around Bahia, Ceará and Paraíba. By that time, he learned to play the saxophone. He joined Severino Araújo's Orquestra Tabajara and headed for Rio de Janeiro in 1948. He was soon hired by Rádio Nacional, remaining for 19 years. Besides being an excellent instrumentalist, he is also a maestro and arranger. He taught music to Roberto Menescal, Nara Leão, Sérgio Mendes and others, and in the 1950s and 60s, he wrote music with the likes of Vinicius de Moraes and Mário Telles. He is regarded as one of the masterminds of the harmonic renewal of MPB. His debut album, "Coisas", was released in 1965 on the label Forma, and all of the tracks are named "Coisa" ("Thing"). He later wrote soundtracks, which led him to the United States, where he eventually settled. There, he works on the film industry and is a music professor. Santos has recorded on Blue Note and doesn't visit Brazil very often. Some of his most acclaimed compositions are "Nanã" (with Mário Telles), "Menino Travesso", "Triste de Quem" and "Se Você Disser que Sim", the three with Vinicius de Moraes.