Gelson Oliveira

Origin

Porto Alegre, RS

Years Active

1979

Genres

MPB, brazilian folk music

Instruments

singing, acoustic guitar

Biography

Gelson Oliveira is a celebrated Brazilian singer, songwriter, classical guitar player, and music producer born in Porto Alegre in 1955. During his youth in Gramado, he worked with woodcraft and notably crafted the Kikito trophies for the Gramado Film Festival before joining musical groups as a teenager and eventually returning to Porto Alegre in the late 1970s. His early career milestones included performing alongside Nei Lisboa in the 1979 show Lado a Lado and later releasing his debut independent album, Terra, in partnership with drummer Luiz Ewerling.

Over the decades, Oliveira established himself as a prominent figure in Brazilian popular music, earning critical acclaim and prestigious accolades such as the Fiat National Music Award in 1990 and the Sharp Award in 1993 for his album Imagem das Pedras, which featured a collaboration with Gilberto Gil. His prolific output continued with projects like Tempo ao Tempo, a collaboration with trombonist Júlio Rizzo, and the collective album Juntos 2 - Povoado das Águas alongside artists like Nelson Coelho de Castro, Bebeto Alves, and Totonho Villeroy.

Celebrating three decades of his career, he released the album Tridimensional in 2009, earning an Açorianos Music Award for best composer, while also producing award-winning work for singer Zilah Machado. Beyond his adult contemporary and MPB work, Oliveira expanded into children's music, releasing his first children's album O Ônibus do Sobe e Desce in 2016 and composing "Papagaio Pandorga," the theme song for the children's television program Pandorga.

Discography

• Gelson Oliveira & Luiz Ewerling – Terra (1983)
• Imagem das Pedras (1992)
• Tempo ao Tempo (1997)
• Nelson Coelho de Castro * Bebeto Alves * Totonho Villeroy * Gelson Oliveira – Juntos Ao Vivo (1998)
• Gelson Oliveira e Julio Rizzo (1998)
• Nelson Coelho de Castro, Bebeto Alves, Gelson Oliveira, Totonho Villeroy – Juntos < 2 - Povoado das Águas (2001)
• Tridimensional (2009)
• O Ônibus do Sobe e Desce (2015)
• A Arte Do Encontro (Live) (2026)