Djavan

From Maceió to Seduzir

Djavan Caetano Viana was born on January 27, 1949 in Maceió, Alagoas. English Wikipedia dates his career from 1975 and Portuguese Wikipedia from 1967. He played midfield as a youth for CSA in Maceió, started guitar at sixteen and at eighteen joined a vocal group, Luz, Som, Dimensão, which played Beatles songs. He moved to Rio at 23, worked as a nightclub crooner and, through Adelzon Alves and João Araújo of Som Livre, came to TV Globo, singing telenovela songs. In 1975 he placed second at the Festival Abertura with "Fato Consumado". His debut A Voz, o Violão, a Música de Djavan (1976), produced by Aloysio de Oliveira, held "Flor de Lis".

He moved to EMI-Odeon in 1977 and made Djavan (1978), Alumbramento (1980), with "Meu Bem Querer" and collaborations with Chico Buarque and Cacaso, and Seduzir (May 1981), the last of the cycle. In 1980 Gal Costa recorded "Açaí" and "Faltando um Pedaço", which became among the most played songs in Brazil. A 1981 trip to Luanda, Angola with Chico Buarque, Zezé Motta and Gonzaguinha produced his first songs about Africa, and he won the APCA's best composer award in 1981 and 1982. He moved to CBS in 1982 for Luz, recorded in Los Angeles with Stevie Wonder on "Samurai", then Lilás (1984), Meu Lado (1986), Não É Azul mas É Mar (1987), Djavan (Oceano, 1989), Coisa de Acender (1992), Novena (1994), Malásia (1996), Bicho Solto (1998) and Djavan Ao Vivo (1999), a double album that sold over two million by Portuguese Wikipedia or 1.2 million by English.

His compositions have been recorded by Carmen McRae (as "Upside Down"), Al Jarreau, The Manhattan Transfer, Maria Bethânia, Elis Regina, Roberto Carlos, Caetano Veloso and Gal Costa, who recorded thirteen of them. He won the Latin Grammy for Best Song in Portuguese for "Acelerou" in 2000, another for Ária in 2011 and a musical excellence award in 2015. He founded Luanda Records in 2004. Later records include Vesúvio (2018), D (2022) and Improviso (2025); a tour, Djavanear 50 anos, opened at the Allianz Parque in São Paulo in May 2026, and a musical, Djavan - Vidas pra contar, premiered on December 6, 2025.