Milton Silva Campos do Nascimento was born on 26 October 1942 in Rio de Janeiro to Maria Nascimento, a maid who died when he was just 18 months old, after which he was adopted by his mother's former employers, Josino and Lília Campos, and raised in the small town of Três Pontas, Minas Gerais.
Nascimento began singing as a teenager and in 1963 moved to Belo Horizonte, where his friendship with fellow musician Lô Borges led to the formation of the 'Clube da Esquina', or Corner Club, a collective of poets and musicians from Minas Gerais who would reshape Brazilian popular music.
In 1972 Nascimento and the Clube da Esquina collective released the landmark double album Clube da Esquina, blending folk, rock, jazz and traditional Brazilian styles into a sound deeply rooted in the street music culture of Minas Gerais, a work now regarded as one of the most important albums in Brazilian music history.
Nascimento's international breakthrough came through collaborations with American jazz artists including Wayne Shorter on the 1974 album Native Dancer, and his soaring, distinctive voice brought him worldwide recognition across a discography spanning more than 40 albums.
In 2012 the Latin Recording Academy honoured Nascimento with its Lifetime Achievement Award, describing him as 'undeniably one of Brazil's top musical innovators'; he has also written ballet scores and contributed music to numerous Brazilian films, cementing his status as one of the most significant figures in the history of Brazilian popular music.
- Released the landmark 1972 album Clube da Esquina, one of the most influential works in Brazilian music history
- Collaborated with jazz legends including Wayne Shorter and Herbie Hancock
- Recorded more than 40 albums across a six-decade career
- Received the Latin Recording Academy's Lifetime Achievement Award, 2012
- Composed ballet music for major dance companies
- Place can shape an entire artistic movement. Nascimento's Minas Gerais upbringing and the Clube da Esquina collective he helped form produced a uniquely regional sound that became nationally and internationally influential.
- Collaboration across cultures can expand an artist's reach. His partnerships with American jazz musicians introduced Brazilian music to new international audiences without compromising its distinct identity.