Ascendino Lisboa

Origin

Rio Tinto, PB

Years Active

1920–1960

Genres

MPB, choro, samba, canção regional

Instruments

violão, voz

Biography

Ascendino da Silva Lisboa was born in Rio Tinto, standing out on the Brazilian musical scene as a singer, acoustic guitarist, conductor, and composer. He began his artistic journey in the 1920s, having the opportunity to join the North American group Yankee during their time in Brazil, before consolidating his name as one of the main attractions of Rádio Cruzeiro do Sul and Rádio Difusora de São Paulo. Throughout his career, he recorded important records for labels such as RCA Victor, Columbia, and Odeon, versatility interpreting both regional repertoires and songs influenced by North American music.

Recognized for his smooth voice and distinct skill on the acoustic guitar, Ascendino also worked as the conductor of the Jazz Tupi orchestra and participated in prominent tours, performing alongside great icons of the era, such as Carmen Miranda. His popularity on the radio earned him praise from the specialized press, which described him as a refined interpreter of fox-trots and international songs, in addition to a talented organizer of spectacles and shows in casinos and nightclubs in the 1930s and 1940s.

In the following years, he dedicated himself to other activities, such as the sport of target shooting, but kept his connection to music alive, returning sporadically to the microphones for radio tributes. He passed away on June 25, 1975, leaving an indelible legacy in the golden age of Brazilian radio and in the diffusion of the popular music of his time, alongside contemporaries such as Ary Barroso and Antenógenes Silva.