Santiago recorded his self-titled first album in 1975, on the CID record label, with a collection of little-known songs by famous composers. The following year he signed a contract with Phillips-Polydor, with whom he remained until 1984, recording ten albums. But his big break came in 1988, with his inclusion in the Aquarela Brasileira collection, a seven-volume set by Som Livre dedicated to the Brazilian repertoire. Santiago was the featured artist in disc #4 in the series, and sales exceeded all expectations. He went on to gain both national and international attention, both as a soloist and a collaborator. He worked with some of the greatest names in Brazilian music: Dick Farney, João Donato, Caetano Veloso, and more recently Bossacucanova and Marcos Valle, among others. Here he is onstage with Leny Andrade, performing "Uma Batida Diferente":
And here he is singing "Saigon", one of his best-loved signature hits:
Santiago came to New York in 2009 and 2010 as part of Birdland's Bossa Brasil Fest, where I had the privilege to hear him alongside the likes of Sergio Brandão, Marcos Valle, and Cidhinho Texeira. Those were two magical evenings. He had a way of doing a ritardo at the end of a song or phrase that just brought all the sadness and beauty of existence together into one moment, and gave new meaning to the phrase "making time stand still".
I was also surprised and delighted to hear Santiago's voice on one of the tracks of Bossacucanova's new album, "Nossa Onda é Essa!", released in December 2012. He sings João Gilberto's tune "É Preciso Perdoar". As far as I know it's the last song he ever recorded:
Definitely, we will never hear a voice like that again in this world. Rest in peace, Emilio Santiago.
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