Mario Castro Neves

Mario Castro-Neves was a pianist, arranger, composer, and bandleader from one of the most musical families in Brazil. 1967's Mario Castro-Neves & Samba SA is a classic, melding bossa, samba, pop, and jazz. He cut three more albums during the '70s: Brazilian Mood (1973), The Latin Band of Mario Castro-Neves (1975), and Stop, Look & Listen (1977). Castro-Neves was a professor at Princeton University during the '80s and led the non-recording quintet Subtle Chemistry. In the '90s he worked as a producer and keyboard programmer at New Jersey's TC Studios. Early in the 21st century, he performed on and wrote for albums by jazz vocalist Ithamara Koorax. He assembled a new version of Samba S.A. to record 2004's On a Clear Bossa Day on JSR Records. His final recorded appearance was on Cesar Machado's 2014 album Made for Us, arranging and playing piano.