musicologist and journalist dies at 87

The musicologist and journalist Zuza Homem de Mello passed away last night at the age of 87. The newspaper O Estado de S. Paulo confirmed the news with the São Paulo family, who died in his sleep due to an acute myocardial infarction.

Zuza marked the history of Brazilian music with works with names like Elis Regina, Milton Nascimento and Gilberto Gil. She directed festivals such as O Fino da Música and the Guarujá Summer Festival, and presented the program “Jazz Brasil” on TV Cultura.

In 2018, her career was told in the documentary “Zuza Homem de Jazz”, directed by Janaina Dalri. The feature film even recalls his passage through the United States in the 1950s, when he studied at the prestigious Juilliard and attended concerts by Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald and Billie Holliday.

Zuza is one of the great figures of my Brazil. I visited him in Sampa to talk and listen to music, and he showed me everything. He is a connoisseur of music, passionate about jazz and close to MPB. And what an elegant, educated and civilized man! “ Caetano Veloso on Zuza Homem de Mello