Vania Bastos....

Essential voice in the contemporary music, São Paulo singer Vânia Bastos started her career in the 80’s, beside her friend Arrigo Barnabé, when she joined the historical band “Sabor de Veneno” (in the unforgetable albums “Clara Crocodilo” and “Tubarões Voadores”). In 1986 Vânia recorded her first solo álbum, which already predetermined her plurarity as a interpreter, especially in the repertoire presented which combined pieces by Hermelino Neder, Arrigo Barnabé, Carlos Rennó, José Miguel Wisnik emphasizing “Esse Rapaz”, lyrics by Eduardo Gudin written especially for Vânia. In 1989 Vânia and Eduardo Gudin began a solid artistic partnership which resulted in a run of shows at Sesc Pompéia and the recording of the album “Eduardo Gudin e Vânia Bastos”. In the following year she release her second solo album featuring the famous song “Paulista”, by Gudin and Costa Netto.

This work was also release in Japan. In 1992 she records the album “Cantando Caetano”, with arrangements by Paulo Bellinati and participation by Caetano Veloso himself in track “No dia que eu vim-me embora”. Two years later, in 1994, Vânia released the álbum “Canta Mais” which had two of it’s songs, “Canta, canta mais”, by Tom Jobim and Vinícius de Moraes and “Pálida”, by Tavito and Aldir Blanck, as theme songs in soap operas at the time. In the following year, she records “Vânia Bastos and Cordas – songs by Tom Jobim” (1995), with piano and orchestration by Francis Hime. In 1997 she recorded “Diversões não eletrônicas” which had “major Brazilian arrangers and conductors” as main theme.

This album had new and rerecording songs and gave Vânia the Prize “Movimento de Música” in the “best vocal recording of the year” category. 1999 was the year of recording and release of “Belas e Feras”, in which all the songs were by contemporary Brazilian female lyricists, such as Marina Lima, Rita Lee, Ângela Ro Ro. This lead Vânia to an ample tour throughout Brazil reaching the big public. In 2000 she shared the stage with Ivan Lins and Toquinho in a Banco do Brasil project. Vânia also recorded the song “Te Amo” for Ivan Lins’ CD “Anjo de Mim”. In “Vânia Bastos canta Clube da Esquina”, recorded in 2003 and produced by Marco Mazzola with pianos and arrangements by Luiz Avellar, Vânia shares the vocals of the song “San Vicente” with acclaimed Brazilian singer Milton Nascimento and the album has it’s press release by Fernando Brant. Nowadays, Vânia is promoting her most recent work “Tocar na Banda” with CD and DVD recorded live celebrating her 20 years of career with unrestrainable joy, offering the audience a potpourri of both her classic and eclectic repertoire. (CASSIO DE SOUZA)