Severino Dias de Oliveira (May 26, 1930 – December 14, 2006), known professionally as Sivuca, was a Brazilian accordionist, guitarist and singer. In addition to his home state of Paraíba, Brazil, and cities Recife and Rio de Janeiro, he worked and lived in Paris, Lisbon, and New York City intermittently. He has two daughters, Wilma Da Silva and Flavia de Oliveira Barreto.
He worked with Scandinavian jazz musicians in the 1980s. His most famous songs are "João e Maria" with lyrics by Chico Buarque and "Feira de Mangaio", named after the artisan markets of northeast Brazil. He used makeshift instruments alongside conventional ones and combined traditional regional styles such as forró and choro with jazz, bossa nova, and classical music. Sivuca and Hermeto Pascoal, both versatile multi-instrumentalists with albinism, worked together and are sometimes confused with each other.
Career
His professional career began in Pernambuco where he went at the age of 15, and continued in his first album with Humberto Teixeira (1950), leading to work in radio and television in Rio de Janeiro from 1955. With "Os Brasileiros" he toured Europe (1958).
New York 1964-1976
He moved to New York City (1964–76) and worked with Miriam Makeba and Harry Belafonte among others. Archival footage of his work with Makeba can be seen in Mika Kaurismäki's documentary Mama Africa (2011). Makeba included his baião tune "(Adeus) Maria Fulô" on her 1966 album All About Miriam. He recorded with Putte Wickman (Putte Wickman & Sivuca, 1969). He also collaborated with the husband-and-wife team of Oscar Brown and Jean Pace on Joy, an off-Broadway musical show that was performed at the New Theatre in 1970,[1] and the production's original cast recording which was released by RCA Victor that same year.[2] In 1975, he contributed accordion and backing vocals to the track "I Do It For Your Love" on Paul Simon's Still Crazy After All These Years album.
1980s
He recorded with Ulf Wakenius's "Guitars Unlimited" (1987) and Sylvia Vrethammar (Rio de Janeiro Blue, 1985; Rendezvous in Rio, 1995). His "Sivuca Brazilian Group" toured Scandinavia in 1990.
Final years
Sivuca was hospitalized on December 12 and died on December 14, 2006, after suffering from cancer for two-years.[3]
