Jorge Mautner
- Origin
- Rio de Janeiro, RJ
- Years active
- 1962
- Genres
- mpb, rock, samba, experimental music, tropicalismo
- Instruments
- violin, vocals, guitar
Biography
Jorge Mautner is a seminal figure in Brazilian culture, renowned as a singer, songwriter, violinist, and award-winning writer. Born in Rio de Janeiro to European parents fleeing the Holocaust, Mautner was raised under the spiritual influence of his nanny, Lúcia, an ialorixá who introduced him to Candomblé. This early exposure to Afro-Brazilian traditions, combined with formal violin training from his stepfather, Henri Müller, shaped his eclectic and avant-garde approach to music and philosophy.\n\nHis career is deeply intertwined with the Tropicalismo movement and the resistance against the Brazilian military dictatorship. During the 1970s, after a period of exile and travel in the United States and Europe, he formed a legendary musical partnership with guitarist Nelson Jacobina. Mautner became a close collaborator and friend to icons such as Caetano Veloso and Gilberto Gil, with whom he shared both stages and intellectual projects, including the "Figa Brasil" movement. His composition "Maracatu Atômico" remains one of the most significant songs in Brazilian music, famously reinterpreted by Gilberto Gil and later by Chico Science & Nação Zumbi.\n\nBeyond music, Mautner is a distinguished literary figure, having won the Jabuti Prize for his debut novel. His "Mitologia do Kaos" (Mythology of Chaos) serves as a thematic pillar for his artistic output, which spans dozens of books and albums. In recent years, he has continued to produce relevant work, such as the 2019 album "Não Há Abismo Em Que o Brasil Caiba," recorded with the band Tono, featuring Bem Gil and Ana Lomelino.