Chega de saudade

There is a recording of Chega de saudade that captures a very particular moment in the collaboration between Toquinho and Vinícius de Moraes. It was a session held in a Milan studio in 1975, and the uniqueness lies in the fact that it was done in a single live take. Instead of a polished recording, what you hear is an atmosphere of spontaneity, with comments, laughter, and even a few mistakes. The idea was to revisit much of Vinícius' work, from his early days with figures like Carlos Jobim and Baden Powell, to his joint work with Toquinho. The only instrumentation accompanying the vocals is Toquinho's guitar, allowing for a very intimate focus on the performances. This version, lasting 2 minutes and 17 seconds, is one of the few occasions where Vinícius de Moraes sings his own greatest hits.

Toquinho, whose real name is Antonio Pecci Filho, was born in São Paulo in 1946. From a young age, he showed a great interest in music, beginning his guitar studies at fourteen with Paulinho Nogueira. His musical training expanded with studies in harmony, classical guitar, and orchestration. In the 1960s, he began performing in public and became a professional. An important stage in his career was his collaboration with Chico Buarque, with whom he composed his second recorded song. In 1969, he traveled to Italy with Chico, a country where he has continued to perform regularly. The following year, 1970, he composed his first major hit, Que Maravilha, alongside Jorge Ben. It was in that same year that Vinícius de Moraes invited him to participate in shows in Buenos Aires, marking the beginning of a fruitful partnership that lasted eleven years. Together, they created around 120 songs, recorded 25 albums, and gave over a thousand performances. Among their most notable compositions from this period are O Bem-amado and Carta ao Tom 74. Toquinho and Vinícius shared a deep friendship, and Toquinho recalls being very close to Vinícius until the end of his life. The album O Poeta e o Violão, released in 1975, reflects this artistic connection, recorded in an atmosphere of great creative freedom.