Milton Nascimento

Milton Silva Campos do Nascimento (; born October 26, 1942), also known as Bituca, is a Brazilian singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist.

Nascimento has recorded 32 studio albums and has won five Grammy Awards, including Best World Music Album for his album Nascimento in 1998, and twelve Brazilian Music Awards. He has collaborated with various artists including Björk, Pat Metheny, Caetano Veloso, and Elis Regina.

Biography Milton Nascimento was born in the boarding house Dona Augusta in the neighborhood of Tijuca, Rio de Janeiro, where his mother, Maria do Carmo do Nascimento, was a maid. Maria raised her son on her own, until dying of tuberculosis when he was two, thereafter he was taken care of by his maternal grandmother. Nascimento was then adopted as a young child by the relatives of the grandmother's former employers; Josino Brito Campos, a bank employee, mathematics teacher and electronic technician and Lília Silva Campos, a music teacher and choir singer. He moved with his adoptive parents to the city of Três Pontas, in the state of Minas Gerais. When Nascimento was a child, he was nicknamed "Bituca" because he pouted when he was upset, which made him look like a native botocudo. Nascimento was also an occasional DJ on a radio station that his father once ran. He lived in the neighborhoods of Laranjeiras and Tijuca in Rio de Janeiro.

In 1968, Nascimento was married to a student named Lurdeca in Tijuca. The couple lived in Copabacana, though the marriage only lasted a month, later being annulled. After this, he chose to dedicate his time to music instead of marrying or having kids, however, he would later adopt a son, Augusto Kesrouani do Nascimento, in 2016 after ten years of knowing him.

Clube da Esquina

In the early stages of his career, Nascimento played in two samba groups, Evolussamba and Sambacana. He would also play in the group W's Boys alongside Wagner Tiso in Três Pontas. In 1962, he recorded his first song "Barulho de Trem." A year later, in 1963, he moved to Belo Horizonte, where his friendship with Lô Borges led to the Clube da Esquina ("street corner club") movement. Members included Beto Guedes, Toninho Horta, Wagner Tiso, and Flávio Venturini, with whom he shared compositions and melodies. One composition was "Canção do Sal", which was first covered by singer Elis Regina in 1966, and led to a television appearance with Nascimento.

In 1967, he entered the Festival Internacional da Canção after Agostinho dos Santos had sent in three of his tracks to the search committee. He placed second with "Travessia" ("Bridges") and was able to score a three-album contract with Creed Taylor who had been in attendance. He moved to the United States to record with Taylor, beginning with the album Courage in 1969.

Nascimento's compositions include songs such as "Nada Será Como Antes" ("Nothing Will Be As It Was"), "Maria, Maria", "Canção da América" ("Song from America"/"Unencounter"), "Bailes da Vida", and "Coração de Estudante" ("Student's Heart"), a song about the funeral of Edson Luís, who was killed by police officers in 1968. The song became the hymn for the Diretas Já social-political campaign in 1984, was played at the funeral of President-elect Tancredo Neves the next year, and was also played at Ayrton Senna's funeral.

Diversification

While his reputation within Brazil was firmly established with his Clube da Esquina works, Nascimento's international breakthrough came with his appearance on jazz saxophonist Wayne Shorter's 1974 album Native Dancer. The piece paid homage to the poetry of Nascimento and Carlos Drummond de Andrade, two "iconic" poets from Minas Gerais.

Collaborations and farewell tour Nascimento being honored by Portela in the 2025 Brazilian Carnival. In 2020, Nascimento released Existe Amor, a four-track collaborative EP with São Paulo rapper Criolo. The EP was part of the Existe Amor project, a campaign for a solidarity fund for Brazilians in socially vulnerable conditions during the coronavirus pandemic. The campaign's launch took place via projections on buildings in São Paulo to encourage donations to organizations such as É de Lei, SP Invisível and Arsenal da Esperança, among others.

On October 26, 2021, on his 79th birthday, Nascimento announced his 2022 farewell tour A Última Sessão de Música (The Last Music Session) on social media, although he would later state that he was not quitting music. The title of the tour is a reference to the track of the same name on his 1973 album Milagre dos Peixes. He played his last show on November 13, 2022, at the Mineirão stadium in Belo Horizonte.

On November 15, 2023, Nascimento released Outros Cantos, a collaborative album with sertanejo duo Chitãozinho & Xororó.

On May 15, 2024, Nascimento announced a new album with American musician and songwriter Esperanza Spalding titled Milton + Esperanza. Recorded in Brazil in 2023, it was released on August 9, 2024, via Concord Records and received critical acclaim from music critics. The album was nominated for Best Jazz Vocal Album at the 67th Annual Grammy Awards. On October 29, 2024, Nascimento released the collaborative EP Moon Over Minas with American musician and producer Jonathan Wilson. The EP was recorded while Wilson was on tour in Brazil. Although Milton stated that he would be retiring from live concerts and tours, was published on August 7, 2024, featuring him, Esperanza Spalding, Guinga, Maria Gadú, among other artists performing five songs from the album. As NPR Music states in the description of the performance on YouTube, "it’s likely to be the only video performance of this music".

Health In October 2025, Nascimento's family announced that he had been diagnosed with Lewy body dementia.

Discography

Studio albums

1967: Milton Nascimento (Travessia) 1969: Courage 1969: Milton Nascimento 1970: Milton 1972: Clube da Esquina (with Lô Borges and Clube da Esquina) 1973: Milagre dos Peixes 1974: Native Dancer (with Wayne Shorter) 1975: Minas 1976: Geraes 1976: Milton (with Wayne Shorter and Herbie Hancock) 1978: Clube da Esquina 2 1979: Journey to Dawn 1980: Sentinela 1981: Caçador de Mim 1982: Anima 1982: Ponta de Areia 1982: Missa dos Quilombos (with Pedro Casaldáliga and Pedro Tierra) 1983: Ao Vivo 1985: Encontros e Despedidas 1986: A Barca dos Amantes (with Wayne Shorter) 1987: Yauaretê (with Wayne Shorter and Herbie Hancock) 1989: Miltons with Herbie Hancock 1990: Canção da America 1990: Txai 1992: Noticias do Brasil 1993: Três Pontas 1994: Angelus (with Wayne Shorter, Herbie Hancock, James Taylor and Jon Anderson) 1994: O Planeta Blue na Estrada do Sol 1996: Amigo 1997: Nascimento 1998: Tambores de Minas 1999: Crooner 2000: Nos Bailes da Vida 2001: Gil & Milton (with Gilberto Gil) 2003: Pietá 2003: Music for Sunday Lovers 2005: O Coronel e o Lobisomem 2007: Milagre dos Peixes: Ao Vivo 2008: Novas Bossas 2008: Belmondo & Milton Nascimento 2010: ...E a Gente Sonhando 2010: Under Tokyo Skies (with Herbie Hancock) 2011: Nada Será Como Antes: O Musical 2013: Uma Travessia: 50 Anos de Carreira 2015: Tamarear (with Dudu Lima Trio) 2023: Outros Cantos (with Chitãozinho & Xororó) 2024: Milton + Esperanza (with Esperanza Spalding)

Extended plays 2018: A Festa 2018: Nada Será Como Antes 2020: Existe Amor (with Criolo) 2024: Moon Over Minas (with Jonathan Wilson)

Compilations 2000: Oratório 2004: Maria Maria / Ultimo Trem

Guest appearances 1972: Elis by Elis Regina 1978: Chico Buarque by Chico Buarque 1987: Brazilian Romance by Sarah Vaughan 1987: Dezembros by Maria Bethânia 1990: The Rhythm of the Saints by Paul Simon 2004: Temple of Shadows by Angra

Awards and recognition Latin Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award (2012) Honorary Doctorate of Music, awarded by Berklee College of Music (2016)