João Theodoro Meirelles (1940-2008), tenor saxophonist, flute player and leader of the Bossa Kings, was born in Rio de Janeiro. Having originally established himself in several of Brazil's bigname bands, he settled easily into club work in São Paulo and at the Bottle Club in Rio, where he played with top visiting American jazzmen such as Jim Hall, Nick Travis, Bud Shank, and Sam Most, as well as such Brazilians as Luiz Eça, Paulo Moura, Sergio Mendes and Moacir Santos. He was one of the musicians who took Brazilian instrumental music one step forward, beyond the songs with lyrics that singers and fans liked to sing. That is why it is said that João Meirelles was the creator of Samba-Jazz, a genre linked closely to the emergence of Bossa Nova.

Having started in music at eight, João T. Meirelles studied composition and arranging at Berklee School of Music (Boston, MA). His professional debut was at 17 as João Donato's saxophonist. Next he moved to São Paulo, where he worked with Luís Loy and recorded in 1962 his debut as leader on Battle Records "Cool Samba" under the name of João and His Bossa Kings.

Returning to Rio in 1963 Meirelles formed the Copa 5, the memorable Samba-Jazz group (Manuel Gusmão, bass; Luís Carlos Vinhas, piano; Dom Um Romão, drums; and Pedro Paulo, bass), which debuted at the Bottle's Bar, at the Beco das Garrafas (Rio). In that same year he wrote the arrangement for the original recording of "Mas Que Nada," Jorge Ben's first hit.

Meirelles recorded with the group in 1964 the landmark LP "O Som," signing the arrangements for the tracks "Quintessência," "Solitude," "Blue Bottle's," "Nordeste," "Comtemplação," and "Tânia," all written by himself. The next album, O Novo Som, brought a new formation with Eumir Deodato (piano), Edson Machado (drums), Roberto Menescal (guitar), Walter Branco (electric guitar) and Manoel Gusmão (bass), with the originals "O Novo Som," "Solo," and "Serelepe."

From 1964 to 1975 he worked as an instrumentalist, conductor, arranger, and producer at Odeon. In 1965 and 1967 he wrote several arrangements for different editions of the historic Festival Internacional da Canção (International Song Festival, TV Globo), having performed in 1966 in the Berlin Jazz Festival (Germany), with Edu Lobo, Rosinha de Valença, Dom Salvador, and Sérgio Barroso. In 1967 he participated in the inauguration of the Caneção Room (Rio), working there during the entire year.

From 1969 to 1971 Meirelles was EMI-Odeon's (São Paulo) A&R, where he performed regularly with the Luís Loy Quinteto. Back to Rio in 1971 he resumed his work at EMI-Odeon until 1975. Moving then to Mexico, he was hired by the Gimmicks of Sweden, with which he moved to Europe, where he lived for several years (France, Sweden, and Monte Carlo), working with several orchestras (like Aimée Barelli's).

Out of the spotlight in the '80s and '90s, he was rediscovered by journalist José Domingos Raffaelli in 2000, who invited him for the jazz sessions held at the bar of the Hotel Novo Mundo (Rio de Janeiro), which brought him to the instrumental music forefront again. In 2001 the LP "O Som" was reissued in CD by Dubas Música and "O Novo Som" was re-mastered.

João Meirelles died in Rio de Janeiro in 2008 at 67 years old due to stomach problems. Some notable musicians, such as Osmar Milito and Nivalo Ornelas, attended his funeral.

Alvaro Neder —All Music Guide