Elza Soares

Owner of a distinctive voice and a flamboyant style, Elza Soares was one of the most popular and influential samba singers. Starting right away with her debut single -- "Se Acaso Você Chegasse" in 1959, on which she introduced scat singing à la Louis Armstrong to samba -- she became a successful recording artist. Her second album, A Bossa Negra, from 1961, is considered a treasure of Brazilian music at home and abroad. With her voice and songs, Soares always celebrated the gritty aspects of peasant life. It is her birthright, as she was born in a favela. Her passionate, exagge...