Marcos Valle

On 20 May 2026 at Jazz Cafe, London, Brazilian composer, pianist and singer Marcos Valle brings a lifetime of songs that bridge bossa nova, samba and the electric pulse of MPB. He broke through in the early 1960s with Samba de Verão, then folded rock, soul and funk into his writing on albums like Viola Enluarada and Previsão do Tempo, while also scoring music for Brazilian TV and cinema. After time abroad, Nova Bossa Nova reintroduced him to a new club generation, and he’s kept moving since, sliding between samba, soul, jazz fusion and pop.

His music travels easily beyond Brazil: collaborators include Leon Ware, Sarah Vaughan and Chicago; his songs have been recorded by Frank Sinatra and Bebel Gilberto; and producers from Jay-Z and Kanye West to Childish Gambino, Madlib and Kaytranada have sampled his grooves. Emma Bunton even revisited his classic Os Grilos (The Crickets Sing for Anamaria).

Live, expect supple rhythms, Rhodes warmth and airy vocals that drift from beach bossa to boogie and psych‑MPB. A set that traces six decades of Brazilian pop, played by an artist who has shaped it from the inside.