Zeca Baleiro

Zeca Baleiro is the stage name of Brazilian singer-songwriter José Ribamar Coelho Santos, born in the state of Maranhão on April 11,1966. Over the course of his lengthy career, he has released several albums that seamlessly mixed samba with pop, rock, and MPB. In addition, he is also a renowned, award-winning author of children’s music. A native of Arari in Northeastern Brazil, Zeca Bailero started off writing music for children’s plays before relocating to São Paulo in the late 90s to further advance his solo career. He rose to fame after being featured on Gal Costa’s “Flor da Pele,” included in her 1997 Acústico MTV album. That same year, Zeca Baleiro made his official debut with the full-length Por Onde Andará Stephen Fry?, followed by Vô Imbolá in 1999 and Líricas in 2000. All three albums attained gold certification and established him as a bonafide hitmaker in his native Brazil. In the following years, he received several nominations to the Latin Grammys for the albums Pet Shop Mundo Cão (2002), Baladas do Asfalto e Outros Blues (2005), and the 2010 live DVD O Coração do Homem Bomba - Ao Vivo (Ao Vivo Mesmo). In 2015, his cover of Vital Farias’ “Ai, que Saudade d'Ocê” was featured on the soap opera Império. Towards the end of the 2010s, Zeca Baleiro issued the albums O Amor no Caos - Vol. 1 (2019) and O Amor no Caos - Vol. 2 (2019), and inaugurated the new decade with Canções d'Além-mar, his fourteenth LP.