Sivuca

With a playfulness that echoed French chanson and presaged the Brazilian pop explosion of the 1960s, Brazilian musician Severino Dias De Oliveira, commonly known as Sivuca, fingered his accordion (as well as guitar) in a haze of breathless abandon. His impressive repertoire ranged through forro, bossa nova, jazz, and folk music. By the 1950s, he was a force in his home country's scene, touring Europe with Los Brasileiros in the latter half of the decade. During his illustrious career, he took stage or retired into the studio with Harry Belafonte, Oscar Brown, Miriam Mikeba, Toots Thielemans, and Ulf Wakenius (among others). He continued to take the stage into the '00s, by now sporting a bushy white beard, still full of apopleptic energy.