Itamar Assumpção ★ Tietê – 13.09.49 – † 12.06.2003
Labeled as difficult, his work becomes more accessible every day. His daughters Anelis and Serena Assumpção have compiled all the composer’s discography in a box and an Institute launched the book Itamar Assumpção – Unpublished Notebooks, which brings together texts, lyrics and artist poetry. Now, the documentary Daquele Instante me Diante, which runs the life and career of Nego Dito, is available for free download. Directed by Roger Velloso, the movie also has an online version.
Itamar Assumpção was one of the biggest names and contributors in the “A Vanguarda Paulistana” (São Paulo a vanguard), an alternative scene that dominated São Paulo in the very late 70s and the first half of the 80s. This movement united artists who operated involuntarily outside of the established commercial music industry during an era that pre-dated the Internet, the politics of downloading and the contemporary indie music scene. The “Vanguarda” was responsible for launching many new talents and establishing a foundation for autonomous, self-sufficient music production (and subsequent release) by artists such as Arrigo Barnabé and Grupo Rumo.
Assumpção’s music was a fusion of various styles and was predominantly influenced by “rock”, “samba”, “reggae” and “funk”. The lyrics contained within the songs were infused with sharp satire and heavy social criticism, with the lyrical content of Assumpção’s music also reflecting a number of influences – Adoniran Barbosa, Cartola, Jimi Hendrix, Miles Davis, the poetry of Paulo Leminski and Alice Ruiz.
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