During the ‘70s, when samba's popularity began to rise, Jesse Gomes da Silva Filho (a.k.a. Zeca Pagodinho) was getting his feet wet as a player of the cavaquinho—a guitar-like instrument often used in samba. Trading fretwork for vocals at the turn of the decade, he built his reputation as one fierce partido-alto traditionalist for his carefree, rhythmically buoyant releases that could potentially unleash multiple dance-floor samba battles.